Last week, four Sanford-Burnham postdoctoral researchers were honored with Fishman Fund Awards to recognize their commitment to biomedical research and their potential to build the body of scientific knowledge. The awards were created to honor Dr. William and Lillian Fishman, who founded the Institute in 1976. Each awardee receives a $5,000 grant to support further education and career development.Postdoctoral researchers are scientists who have completed doctoral degrees and now desire to specialize in a particular area of research. They do this by choosing a faculty mentor with whom to work. Postdoctoral researchers typically conduct the majority of the hands-on science in a research laboratory. They learn by doing and receive critical insights from senior investigators. The experience guides their future research.
Congratulations to the 2010 Fishman Fund Award winners:
David Castro, Ph.D., studies breast cancer stem cells in Dr. Robert Oshima’s laboratory. Many researchers believe that inhibiting these tumor-initiating cells could lead to a whole new class of cancer treatments. Instead of killing cancer cells, these treatments would “instruct” the stem cells to become, or differentiate into, benign, non-tumorigenic cells. Dr. Castro has helped identify chemicals that induce or inhibit the differentiation of these cancer stem cells.
Gaurav Sharma, Ph.D., is pursuing an academic career in biomedical engineering and is particularly interested in developing novel therapeutic strategies using nanotechnology. Dr. Sharma works in Dr. Jeffrey Smith’s laboratory, where he is using drug-loaded nanoparticles to target tumor-associated macrophages (a type of white blood cell that promotes tumor progression and metastasis).
Stefan Grotegut, Ph.D., works in Dr. Charles Spruck’s laboratory and is interested in the mechanisms that help maintain normal cellular function and, when disturbed, can contribute to severe malignancies. He is particularly interested in the protein ubiquitin (so-named because it is ubiquitous in the body), which marks other proteins for destruction. This process, called ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation, is critical to clear excess and malfunctioning proteins from cells.
George Kyriazis, Ph.D., is studying type 2 diabetes in Dr. Björn Tyrberg’s laboratory. He has recently discovered a novel way to stimulate insulin secretion in pancreatic endocrine cells, a mechanism that fails in type 2 diabetes. Dr. Kyriazis hopes that his findings will both increase our understanding of insulin secretion and unveil potential therapeutic targets to manage this disease.
Congratulations to the award winners!