March 21, 2005 - The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced
the
selection of its new HHMI investigators, which are, according to HHMI's news
release, "the
nation's most promising biomedical scientists." Among these prestigious
scientists are two
University of Utah researchers - Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, Ph.D., associate
professor of
neurobiology and anatomy, and Erik M. Jorgensen, Ph.D., professor of biology.
"We are extremely proud of Alejandro and Erik. A Howard Hughes investigator is
one of
the highest awards faculty can get in the biomedical field," states A. Lorris
Betz, senior
university vice president for health sciences. "This is terrific recognition for
two of our very
finest biologists and is key in moving forward the concepts of the University's
new Brain
Institute."
Jorgensen's research focuses on the molecular nature of memory with the goal of
identifying the molecules that function at the synapse, the small gap where
information
flows from one neuron to another. Jorgensen is working to understand how the
activities
of these molecules are changed to strengthen or weaken a synapse. He was one of
the
lead biologists at the U who devised a new technique to rapidly determine the
job
performed by particular genes in laboratory animals, specifically in worms. He
and other
biologists announced their findings in the September 2001 issue of
Nature. The new
method, according to Jorgensen, "is a great system for identifying what genes
do. Most of
the genes in worms are very similar to genes in humans. Studying worms enables
scientists to better understand neuronal circuits that give rise to behaviors,
particularly the
generation of rhythmic behavior."
Sanchez Alvarado has established Schmidtea mediterranea, a freshwater
flatworm, or planaria, as a powerful new model system to study the molecular
mechanics
of cell regeneration. These creatures are able to grow entirely new body parts
when cells
are lost to injury or amputation. By identifying and functionally characterizing
regeneration at the molecular level, Sanchez Alvarado hopes to gain a better
understanding of how higher organisms, including humans, develop biologically.
Erik Jorgensen received his B.S. in animal resources from the University of
California,
Berkeley, a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle, and was a
Postdoctoral
Fellow at MIT before joining the University of Utah's Biology Department in
1994. He
currently serves as the Scientific Director of the Utah Brain Institute at the
University of
Utah. Jorgensen has received several excellence in teaching awards from the U as
well as
the Jacob Javits Award from the Institutes of Health and the Damon Runyon Award.
Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado received a B.S. in molecular biology and chemistry
from
Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in pharmacology and cell biophysics from the
University
of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He was a staff associate at the Carnegie
Institution
Department of Embryology before joining the University of Utah School of
Medicine in 2001
as an associate professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy. He won the Marcus Singer
Award
and an Albert J. Ryan Fellowship Award.
"Both Alejandro and Erik have accomplished much by using lower animal models to
better understand the human nervous system," states Tom Parks, chairman of the
Neurobiology and Anatomy Department. "Conventional genetic mapping can take a
year
or more to identify the performance of a gene, but by analyzing mutant genes in
worms
the process requires only days."
HHMI selected their 43 investigators from a highly competitive field of 300
finalists from
over 200 universities, medical schools and institutions across the country.
Candidates had
to demonstrate exceptional promise within four to 10 years of becoming
independent
scientists. HHMI President Thomas R. Cech stated in today's release, "These
scientists are
on the rapidly rising slope of their careers and have made surprising
discoveries in a short
period of time. We have every reason to believe that they will use their
creativity to
extend the boundaries of scientific knowledge for many years to come."
When a university faculty member becomes an HHMI investigator, HHMI takes over
the
payment of the faculty member's salary and gives him or her an operations budget
for
personnel, supplies and equipment and access to a capital equipment fund. The
faculty
member must retain a university appointment. HHMI investigators continue to be
based at
their home institutions, typically leading a research group of students,
postdoctoral
associates and technicians. They also become Institute employees and are
supported by
field staff throughout the country.
All of HHMI's investigators announced today must now be formally appointed, a
process
that will take up to six months. Once formally appointed, Jorgensen and Sanchez
Alvarado will join a group of four Howard Hughes investigators already at the U.
RELATED WEB SITE:
Howard Hughes Medical
Institute
University of Utah Public Relations
201 S Presidents Circle, Room 308
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9017
(801) 581-6773 fax: 585-3350
www.utah.edu/unews
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