Milestones

Awarded:

C. David Allis, the 2014 Japan Prize in Life Sciences from the Japan Prize Foundation, for his pioneering work in epigenetics and his discovery that chemical modifications of DNA-packaging proteins play a key role in regulating the activity of individual genes. The prize, worth approximately half a million dollars, is among the most prestigious international prizes in science. Dr. Allis is Joy and Jack Fishman Professor and head of the Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics. 

Jesse Ausubel, the 2014 Paradigm Prize from the Breakthrough Institute, a California-based think tank focused on ecological issues. Mr. Ausubel, director of the Program for the Human Environment, was chosen for his research and writings on population, technology, energy, materials, agriculture and pollution — work that has implications for reducing humankind’s negative impacts on the nonhuman world.

Jean-Laurent Casanova, the Presidential Award from the Clinical Immunology Society. Dr. Casanova researches the genetic basis of pediatric infectious diseases and is head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Jean-Laurent Casanova, the Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award, from the American Pediatric Society, for his discoveries of single-gene lesions in children that confer selective vulnerability to certain infectious illnesses.

Brian Chait and Michael Rout, an award from the Jain Foundation, which aims to find cures for muscular dystrophies caused by dysferlin protein deficiency. Dr. Chait, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Professor and head of the Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry, specializes in the development and use of mass spectrometry as a tool for investigating a variety of biological and biochemical phenomena. Dr. Rout, head of the Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, uses biochemical, biophysical and structural approaches to characterize macromolecular assemblies, with an emphasis on the nuclear pore complex.

Barry Coller, the Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award and Lectureship, from the American Association of Blood Banks. The award honors Karl Landsteiner, a former Rockefeller professor whose research laid the foundation for modern blood transfusion therapy. Dr. Coller is recognized for his dedication to improving patient and donor care and safety within transfusion medicine and cellular therapy. He is physician in chief, David Rockefeller Professor and head of the Allen and Frances Adler Laboratory of Blood and Vascular Biology.

Titia de Lange, the Canada Gairdner International Award, given for significant discoveries in medical science. The Gairdner is Canada’s highest scientific award and is considered among the most prestigious international prizes in science. Dr. de Lange, who is Leon Hess Professor and head of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, is one of six recipients of the award this year, and will receive approximately $90,000.

Elaine Fuchs, the 2014 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research from the American Association for Cancer Research, for her contributions to the understanding of skin, skin stem cells and skin-related disease. The award recognizes an individual scientist of international renown who has made a major scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research. Dr. Fuchs is Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, head of the Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

David D. Ho, the 2013 Prince Mahidol Award in Medicine, from the Kingdom of Thailand. The award, which comes with a medal and a $100,000 prize, is given for outstanding achievements in medicine. Dr. Ho pursues the development of drugs and vaccines to prevent HIV transmission. He is Irene Diamond Professor and scientific director and chief executive officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center.

Kayo Inaba, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award, which supports eminent women throughout the world who are working in the life and physical sciences. Dr. Inaba, known for her work on dendritic cells, is being honored as the Asia-Pacific recipient. Dr. Inaba is an adjunct faculty member in Michel Nussenzweig’s Laboratory of Molecular Immunology at Rockefeller, and previously worked with Ralph Steinman. She is also a professor in the Graduate School of Biostudies at Kyoto University in Japan, as well as the vice president for gender equality and the director of the Center for Women Researchers at Kyoto.

Sebastian Klinge, a Career Development Award from the Human Frontier Science Program for his work on the early events of eukaryotic ribosome assembly. The award provides $300,000 over three years to establish each researcher’s first independent laboratory. Dr. Klinge, one of 12 recipients, joined Rockefeller in August. He is head of the Laboratory of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry.

Sebastian Klinge, a Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The fellowship supports early-career scientists who have demonstrated special creative ability in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economics. The grant is $50,000 over a two-year period to support Dr. Klinge’s research on the structure and function of ribosomes, the cell’s protein factories.

Mary Jeanne Kreek, the Lifetime Service Award from the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, in recognition of outstanding contribution to the field of drug addiction research. Dr. Kreek, Patrick E. and Beatrice M. Haggerty Professor and head of the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, is the inaugural winner of this award, which was presented in May.

Gaby Maimon, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Dr. Maimon, head of the Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function, was one of 20 NIH-funded scientists chosen to receive this recognition, and was honored by President Obama at a White House ceremony on April 14. 

Nora Pencheva, a Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, one of the country’s most prestigious graduate student prizes. The award is given by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and recognizes outstanding achievement during graduate studies in the biological sciences. Ms. Pencheva, a graduate fellow in Sohail Tavazoie’s Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology, was one of 13 recipients from across North America. She studies the molecular biology of metastatic melanoma — the most deadly type of skin cancer. 

Thomas P. Sakmar, the Invitation Fellow Award from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The award supports a one-month visit to Japan where Dr. Sakmar will give scientific lectures at several Japanese universities and research centers. Dr. Sakmar, Richard M. and Isabel P. Furlaud Professor and head of the Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Signal Transduction, conducts biological and chemical investigations of G protein coupled receptors.

Daniel Schramek, the 2nd Annual Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation, from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Applicants submit a “dream” project in biomedical research, and the awardees — one graduate student and one postdoc — receive a $50,000 prize and a $5,000 donation to support seminars at their home institutions. Dr. Schramek’s proposal used the idea of sequence-based personalized medicine to tackle the most devastating features of cancer such as metastasis and drug resistance. He is a postdoc in Elaine Fuchs’s Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development. 

Agata Smogorzewska, an inaugural Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research from the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance, for her proposal on the role of genome instability in driving tumor formation. The prize, which includes $200,000 per year for up to three years, provides funding to New York scientists with innovative ideas in cancer research and is meant to bridge the gap between academic science and the business community. Dr. Smogorzewska is head of the Laboratory of Genome Maintenance.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the Burke Award from Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, given for significant contributions to the field of rehabilitation. Dr. Tessier-Lavigne, president of the university, Carson Family Professor and head of the Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair, is one of four recipients who will be honored at a ceremony in June.

Named:

Shruti Naik and Alexey A. Soshnev, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation fellows. The nonprofit organization, which supports innovative early-career researchers, grants this three-year award to outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. Each received more than $150,000 to work on innovative projects. Dr. Naik is a member of Elaine Fuchs’s Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development and Dr. Soshnev is a member of C. David Allis’s Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics.

Thomas Tuschl, a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2014, the first European prize to distinguish inventors who have made an outstanding contribution to innovation, economy and society. Dr. Tuschl is a finalist for his work on an RNA interference method in human cells. The final winners of the award will be announced in Berlin in June. Dr. Tuschl is head of the Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Elected:

Robert B. Darnell, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Darnell is one of 84 new members, elected for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Dr. Darnell studies a group of rare brain diseases, the paraneoplastic neurologic disorders, and how they arise in conjunction with immune responses to cancer. He is Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Professor, head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-oncology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Michel Nussenzweig, a member of The Practitioners Society of New York, a distinguished organization of medical doctors that was founded in 1882. Dr. Nussenzweig, Zanvil A. Cohn and Ralph M. Steinman Professor, is head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He studies molecular aspects of adaptive and innate immune responses.

Published:

Jesse Ausubel, La Liberazione dell’Ambiente (The Liberation of the Environment), an autobiography published in April by the Italian publisher Di Renzo. It is part of a series of such books on people with interesting careers. The book spans Mr. Ausubel’s roots, childhood and education, as well as the major chapters of his career: climate change, industrial ecology, Census of Marine Life, DNA barcoding, Encyclopedia of Life and Deep Carbon Observatory. Mr. Ausubel is director of the Program for the Human Environment.

An interview with Sebastian White in How We Found the Higgs Boson, a book by Michael Krause published by Rich & Famous Publishing Berlin. Dr. White, a senior research associate in Mitchell Feigenbaum’s Laboratory of Mathemetical Physics, describes his role as a project manager for the Zero Degree Calorimeter experiment in the framework of the ATLAS collaboration at CERN.

Featured:

Luciano Marraffini, in Cell’s “40 Under 40,” a collection of profiles recognizing accomplished young researchers shaping current and future trends in science. The profiles will be featured throughout 2014 in print and online issues, as well as on the web at cell.com/40/under40. Dr. Marraffini is head of the Laboratory of Bacteriology and investigates the exchange of genetic material among bacteria.

Hired:

John Aitchison, visiting professor, Rout Lab.

Natalie Alejandro, cage card compliance assistant, Comparative Bioscience Center.

Alexander Antipenko, research specialist, Casanova Lab.

Tobias Bartsch, postdoctoral associate, Hudspeth Lab.

Serkan Belkaya, postdoctoral associate, Casanova Lab.

Shawn Belton, animal attendant, Comparative Bioscience Center.

Sivan Ben Avraham Shulman, study coordinator, Nussenzweig Lab.

Tobias Bengtsson, visiting student, Coller Lab.

Amanda Bermudez, teacher, Child and Family Center.

Clementine Boccon-Gibod, foreign research intern, Casanova Lab.

Kathleen Bonifacio, postdoctoral associate, Krueger Lab.

Elia Bove, research associate, Ruta Lab.

Eleni Bratanis, foreign research intern, Fischetti Lab.

Jacinta Bustamante, member of the adjunct faculty, Casanova Lab.

Jorg Calis, postdoctoral fellow, Rosenberg Lab.

Julio Cesar Cetrulo Lorenzi, postdoctoral associate, Nussenzweig Lab.

Mei Ki Chan, grants management specialist, Sponsored Research and Program Development.

Aurelie Cobat, visiting fellow, Casanova Lab.

Bruce Conway, program director, Therapeutic Development Fund.

Marshall Crumiller, postdoctoral associate, Knight Lab.

Maxwell Dalmasi, receiving clerk, Purchasing.

Diane Darneau, foreign research intern, Casanova Lab.

Theresa Desmond, special assistant, Chief of Staff.

Brian Dill, research support specialist, Proteomics Resource Center.

Dorit Farfara, postdoctoral associate, Gleeson Lab.

Fabian Fechner, foreign research intern, Tuschl Lab.

Jun Funabiki, research associate, Nurse Lab.

Sandra Garcet, research associate, Krueger Lab.

Alan Gerber, postdoctoral fellow, Roeder Lab.

Beatrice Goilav, visiting assistant professor, Tuschl Lab.

Riva Gottesman, manager of health information systems, Hospital HIS.

Juan Grau, member of the adjunct faculty, Coller Lab.

Antoine Gruet, research specialist, Klinge Lab.

Beverley Guthrie-Turenne, lab helper, Media and Glassware Resource Center.

David Hoytema van Konijnenburg, visiting student, Mucida Lab.

Kuangfu Hsiao, postdoctoral associate, Heintz Lab.

Julien Hsieh, instructor in clinical investigation, Vosshall Lab.

Richard Hutt, clinical research coordinator, Hospital Program Direction.

David Kaback, visiting professor, Rout Lab.

Joo Yong Kim, visiting student, Chua Lab.

Sandra Kurz, foreign research intern, Rice Lab.

Armin Lahiji, postdoctoral associate, Tarakhovsky Lab.

Diane Lane, visiting fellow, McEwen Lab.

Theo Lasseau, foreign research intern, Casanova Lab.

Melanie Laurin, postdoctoral associate, Fuchs Lab.

Juan Li, postdoctoral associate, Casanova Lab.

Juncheng Li, research assistant, Heintz Lab.

Thomas Liebmann, postdoctoral associate, Greengard Lab.

Sophia Lindkvist, visiting student, McEwen Lab.

Sylvia Lipford, animal technician, Heintz Lab.

Max Luedemann, foreign research intern, Tuschl Lab.

Maryem Manzoor, research assistant, Pfaff Lab.

Christian Mayer, postdoctoral associate, Nussenzweig Lab.

Jackie McHugh, manager, Faculty and Students Club.

Kiley McKinstrie, human resources generalist, Human Resources.

Lucian Medrihan, research associate, Greengard Lab.

Fabio Melo, visiting fellow, Allis Lab.

Aaron Mertz, postdoctoral associate, Fuchs Lab.

Eleftherios Michailidis, postdoctoral associate, Rice Lab.

Katrina Millard, clinical research nurse, Hospital Nursing Inpatient.

Rand Miller, postdoctoral associate, Kapoor Lab.

Assia Mouri, foreign research intern, Greengard Lab.

Awni Mousa, bioinformatics specialist, Heintz Lab.

Kian-Hong Ng, postdoctoral fellow, Chua Lab.

Shinji Noda, research associate, Krueger Lab.

Leonora Olivos Cisneros, research assistant, Kronauer Lab.

Francesca Ortenzio, visiting medical student, Krueger Lab.

Christopher Park, visiting fellow, R. Darnell Lab.

Michael Pearce, lab manager, Rice Lab.

Capucine Picard, member of the adjunct faculty, Casanova Lab.

Lauren Pietila, research assistant, Brivanlou Lab.

Anne Puel, member of the adjunct faculty, Casanova Lab.

Zorine Ramcharan, accountant, Finance Controllers Office.

Noe Ramirez Alejo, foreign research intern, Casanova Lab.

Alessandro Rosa, member of the adjunct faculty, Brivanlou Lab.

Anthony Sacchetti, payroll manager, Finance Controllers Office.

Ilaria Sani, postdoctoral associate, Freiwald Lab.

Kirsty Sawicka, postdoctoral associate, R. Darnell Lab.

Jessica Schneider, postdoctoral associate, Brady Lab.

Robert Schwartz, member of the adjunct faculty, Rice Lab.

Orli Sela, assistant, Nottebohm Lab.

Megan Sribour, research specialist, Fuchs Lab.

Alice Stanton, research assistant, Tessier-Lavigne Lab.

Sarah Stern, visiting fellow, Friedman Lab.

Shay Stern, postdoctoral fellow, Bargmann Lab.

Tomohisa Sujino, postdoctoral fellow, Mucida Lab.

Raissa Tanqueco, research assistant, Tavazoie Lab.

Emmanuelle Thinon, postdoctoral associate, Hang Lab.

Karen Tumaneng, postdoctoral associate, Fuchs Lab.

Hasan Vatandaslar, foreign research intern, Tuschl Lab.

Jimmy Weidmann, visiting student, McEwen Lab.

Jonathan Whicher, postdoctoral associate, MacKinnon Lab.

Xianfang Wu, postdoctoral associate, Rice Lab.

Xiao-Lun Wu, visiting professor, Libchaber Lab.

Meg Younger, postdoctoral associate, Vosshall Lab.

Romy Zemel, visiting assistant professor, Rice Lab.

Susan Zolla-Pazner, member of the adjunct faculty, Nussenzweig Lab.

Promoted (academic appointments):

Judilyn Fuentes-Duculan, to senior research associate, Krueger Lab.

Florian Klein, to assistant professor of clinical investigation, Nussenzweig Lab.

Kunihiro Uryu, to research assistant professor, Office of Academic Affairs.

Kimihisa Yoshida, to senior research associate, Blobel Lab.