21 of America's Top Early-Career Scientists Named 2010 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences

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Jun 17, 2010, 12:01 ET

PHILADELPHIA, June 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pew Charitable Trusts today named 21 talented scientists as Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. The program enables scientists to take calculated risks, expand their research and explore unanticipated leads. Scholars receive $240,000 over four years and gain inclusion into a select community of scientists that includes three Nobel Prize winners, three MacArthur Fellows and two recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the program has invested more than $125 million to fund close to 500 scholars. Many of the nation's best early-career scientists—working in all areas of physical and life sciences related to biomedical research—apply to the rigorously competitive program. Applicants are nominated by one of 155 invited institutions and demonstrate excellence and innovation in their research.

"Twenty-five years ago, The Pew Charitable Trusts identified a tremendous opportunity to impact the world of science by supporting the most promising young investigators and encouraging them to pursue their best ideas without restrictions," said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts. "Motivating scientists at this point in their careers is essential to advancing discovery and innovation, and Pew is honored to continue its commitment to this cadre of high-quality researchers."

This year, through the generosity of Kathryn W. Davis, Pew is able to expand its Biomedical Scholars program to include an additional twenty outstanding assistant professor level researchers to be named Pew Scholars over the next four years. Aligned with Mrs. Davis' interest in identifying the causes of and discovering a cure for glaucoma, the additional Pew Scholars, supported by this $5.6 million initiative, will have tremendous potential for uncovering vital clues to many debilitating ocular diseases.

"Being named a Pew Biomedical Scholar early in my career gave me the confidence and resources I needed to pursue new research areas," said Nobel Prize winner and 1990 Pew Biomedical Scholar, Dr. Carol Greider. "In addition, the Pew Scholars program brings together a cohort of young investigators to interact with each other and learn something new along the way."

Work by 2010 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences includes research related to cancer, Alzheimer's, Autism, Glaucoma, Parkinson's disease and birth defects. The 2010 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences are:

Gregory C. Amberg, Pharm.D., Ph.D. Colorado State University Physiology and Biophysics Fernando Camargo, Ph.D. Children's Hospital, Boston Developmental and Cancer Biology Erin Carlson, Ph.D. Indiana University Natural Product Drug Discovery Matthew Evans, Ph.D. Mount Sinai School of Medicine Virology, Hepatitis C virus Raquel Lieberman, Ph.D. Georgia Institute of Technology Structure/Function of Membrane Proteins Andrej Luptak, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine RNA Molecular Biology Craig T. Miller, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Developmental Biology and Evolution Heather W. Pinkett, Ph.D. Northwestern University Structure/Function of Membrane Proteins Rajat Rohatgi, M.D., Ph.D. Stanford University School of Medicine Signal transduction in development and disease Jeroen Saeij, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Genetics of host-pathogen interactions	Winrich Freiwald, Ph.D. The Rockefeller University Neuroscience Alexander Gimelbrant, Ph.D. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. Gene Regulation and Epigenetics David Guertin, Ph.D. University of Massachusetts Medical School Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Valerie Horsley, Ph.D. Yale University Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Sun Hur, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School Structural Biology and Immunology Susan Schwab, Ph.D. New York University School of Medicine Immunology Jingshi Shen, Ph.D. University of Colorado, Boulder Cell Biology, Membrane Transport Peter Tessier, Ph.D. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Biochemistry and Structural Biology Changchun Xiao, Ph.D. Scripps Research Institute Immunology Bing Ye, M.S., Ph.D. The University of Michigan Neuroscience Zhaolan (Joe) Zhou, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania Neuroscience

"This immensely talented and diverse new class of Pew Scholars will undoubtedly have a major impact on biomedical research through their contributions as part of the Pew community and on science as a whole. Their discoveries over time will lead to new medical breakthroughs and improve human health," said Craig C. Mello, Ph.D., a 1995 Pew Scholar and a 2006 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine, and the chair of the national advisory committee for the program.

For full biographies and information regarding the scholars' research, please visit http://directory.pewscholars.org

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life (www.pewtrusts.org).

SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts