Among the newly elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science are Richard Ebright (1989 Scholar), Steven Jacobsen (2000 Scholar), Robert Landick (1987 Scholar) and Chi-Huey Wong (1985 Scholar).

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• American Association for the Advancement of Science

11/19/04
David Page (1989 Scholar) has his research career featured in December 2004 Scientific American. In the same issue, Peter Schultz (1985) and Doug Melton (1983) were named among the Top 50 Tech Leaders of 2004.

Scientific American in its December 2004 issue has a two-page spread and an accompanying photo of David Page, 1989 Scholar and currently a Professor at M.I.T.’s Whitehead Institute.  The article by Gary Stix goes into David’s research on the human Y chromosome, work that has revealed many (perhaps most?) of its secrets, including its entire DNA sequence, the identity of all of its genes, and its apparent ability to keep itself intact by correcting errors that might arise in it.  In another article in the same issue, Peter Schultz was cited among research leaders for his pioneering work to expand the genetic code and incorporate the codes for five “new” amino acids into yeast cells, “potentially leading to new protein medicines.”  Doug Melton was dubbed “policy leader of the year” both for his research that has identified the developmental pathway for the cells that produce insulin and for his advocacy of stem cell research.  Doug’s research has shown that adult stem cells do not differentiate to produce insulin but embryonic ones do, providing strong support for the use of embryonic stem cells in diabetes research.

• Scientific American

10/1/04
Scholars Ismagilov and Morrison Receive 2003 Presidential Early Career Awards

Rustem Ismagilov (’02 Scholar) and Sean Morrison (’00 Scholar)  were recipients of the 2003 Awards (announced September 2004).  These Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, established in 1996, honor “the most promising beginning researchers in the nation within their fields. Eight federal departments and agencies annually nominate scientists and engineers at the start of their careers whose work shows the greatest promise to benefit the nominating agency's mission. Participating agencies award these beginning scientists and engineers up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical government missions.”  Rustem also recently received two other honors.  He was one of 10 scientists to receive this year’s Cope Award, which recognizes and encourages excellence in organic chemistry. Announced in the Monday, Aug. 23 issue of Chemical and Engineering News, the award consists of $5,000 and a $40,000 unrestricted research grant.  Rustem was also named among a group of 100 under age 35 whose contributions to “transforming the nature of technology and business in industries such as biotechnology and medicine, computing and nanotechnology” are having a profound impact on today’s world.

10/1/04
Joe Derisi (’01 Scholar) Becomes Fifth Searle Scholar to Receive MacArthur “Genius” Award

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation just named its 23 Fellows for 2004, including Joe DeRisi, who is Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF.  Joe revolutionized the field of malaria research by devising methods of culturing key stages in the parasite’s life cycle, and he has gone on to do key work on analyzing gene expression.  One goal that Joe has reached is to identify targets for therapeutic intervention.  Joe has also made major contributions to development of technologies for analyzing genomes and gene expression rapidly.  Last year his lab identified and characterized the novel coronavirus responsible for the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  A further write-up of his award citation can be found on the MacArthur Foundation website.

Searle Scholars to win previous MacArthur awards are Xiaowei Zhuang, Richard Mulligan, David Page, and Geraldine Seydoux. 

5/12/04
Cathy Drennan (2001 Searle Scholar) Receives Presidential Early Career Award

The 57 researchers receiving the 2002 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers received their awards May 4, 2004 at a ceremony at the White House. These awards were established in 1996 to honor the most promising beginning researchers in the nation. Cathy was one of eleven biomedical researchers nominated by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. The NIH provides the awardees with up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical NIH missions.

• National Science Foundation

5/6/04
Searle Scholars Dan Littman, Steve Mayo, and Peter Walter elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Of the 72 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, three are former Searle Scholars. Dan Littman ('86 Scholar) is Professor of Molecular Immunology and directs the Molecular Pathogenesis program at the Skirball Institue of New York University. His lab studies the development and regulation of T-cells, T-cell responses to antigens, and the roles of dendritic cells in immune recognition, especially in connection with AIDS virus infection. Dan has also served as a member of the Searle Scholars Program Advisory Board from 1997 to 2000.

Stephen Mayo ('94 Scholar) studies protein structure, stability and design in the Division of Chemistry at Caltech. His algorithm, ORBIT, has facilitated the design of original amino acid sequences for entire proteins, which can be made to fold into correct structures. This accomplishment has been one of the long-standing major goals of protein chemistry.

Peter Walter ('83 Scholar), Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF, worked out many of the steps and molecular players in the processes by which cells synthesize the proteins that occur in their membranes and the proteins they secrete, such as the antibodies, protein hormones and extracellular matrix materials. Currently his lab is addressing two major questions in cell biology: how do proteins become properly localized within a cell? and how does a cell regulate the abundance of each subcellular organelle? Congratulations!

• National Academy of Sciences

5/6/04
Fifteen Searle Scholars Named for 2004

Fifteen individuals doing research in the chemical and biological sciences will each have an additional $240,000 to support their research programs during the next three years. The fifteen have been named as the 2004 Searle Scholars. With the names announced today, 378 Searle Scholars have shared over $66,180,000 in grants made since the program began in 1981. This year, 171 applications were considered from recently appointed assistant professors, nominated by 118 universities and research institutions. The final selection of Scholars was based on recommendations made by a Scientific Advisory Board of eleven scientists distinguished for their research and leadership in fields of interest to the Searle Scholars Program.

In selecting the Scholars, the Board looked for individuals who have already demonstrated innovative research with the potential for making significant contributions to biological research over an extended period of time.

The funds that support the awards come from trusts established under the wills of John G. and Frances C. Searle. Mr. Searle was President of G.D. Searle & Co., of Skokie, Illinois, a research-based pharmaceutical company. Mr. and Mrs. Searle expressed the wish that some of the proceeds of their estates be used for the support of research in medicine, chemistry, and biological science.

In 1980, members of the Searle family acting as Consultants to the Trustees of the Trusts established under the wills of Mr. & Mrs. John G. Searle, recommended the development of a program of support for young biomedical scientists. This idea evolved into the Searle Scholars Program, which is funded through grants from the family trusts to The Chicago Community Trust and administered by Kinship Foundation in Northbrook, Illinois.

2004 Class of the Searle Scholars Program

• Kaveh Ashrafi, University of California, San Francisco
• Matthew S. Bogyo, Stanford University
• Justin C. Crowley, Carnegie Mellon University
• Michael B. Elowitz, California Institute of Technology
• Kristina Hakansson, University of Michigan
• Reuben S. Harris, University of Minnesota
• Jeffrey D. Hartgerink, Rice University
• Grant J. Jensen, California Institute of Technology
• Youxing Jiang, UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Brian A. Kuhlman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Amy E. Pasquinelli, University of California, San Diego
• Jared P. Rutter, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Saba Valadkhan, Case Western Reserve University
• David P. Zenisek, Yale University
• Ricardo E. Dolmetsch, Stanford University