Dr. Richard Sakai
Malaria authority Dr. Richard Sakai of NIAID's Laboratory of
Parasitic Diseases was recently named Knight of the
National Order by President Konare of Mali. In
1990, Sakai accepted a posting to Mali as an NIH
resident scientist to work with Malian scientists
at the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy.
His mission was to develop -- from the ground
up -- a malaria research facility. Now
completed, the Malaria Research and Training Center
is a focus for malaria activities in Mali and all
of West Africa and was visited by NIH director Dr.
Harold Varmus in January. Sakai's knighthood
recognized his service to the people of Mali and
his extraordinary contributions to that nation's
battle against malaria.
Michelle Bennett
NIEHS'
Michelle Bennett has been awarded a 3-year, $120,000
grant from the U.S. Army to develop a genetically
engineered strain of mice that will have defective
copies of a second breast cancer gene, BRCA2, that
has been linked to the majority of inherited breast
cancers not caused by BRCA1. Investigators will use
the mice to learn more about how hereditary breast
cancer develops in humans. Bennett played a role in
the discovery of BRCA1.
Dr. Ira Pastan
Dr. Ira Pastan,
chief of NCI's Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
received the Special Achievement Award sponsored by
Coulter Corp., a research and biotechnology company
in Miami. The award was given recently at the
company's Nature Biotechnology Winter Symposium in
Ft. Lauderdale. The award recognizes "contributions
to biological science by way of new knowledge or
methodology whose impact was not particularly
evident at the time of the first description but
which, over the years, has been seen to be a
seminal event of outstanding significance." Pastan
received the award following his address on "Design
of Recombinant Immunotoxins for the Treatment of
Cancer." The winter symposium is organized by the
University of Miami and Nature Publishing Co.
NCRR Grantee Wins Award
Dr. Dean R. Appling of the University of Texas recently received the first E.L.R. Stokstad Award for his outstanding research on folate and one-carbon metabolism. Folic acid is required by virtually all organisms and a deficiency in humans can be associated with cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects in newborns. The Stokstad Award of $2,500 and an engraved plaque is given to promising scientists for outstanding fundamental research in the area of nutrition.
Appling is a grantee of NCRR's Comparative Medicine Area, Biological Models and Materials. This program develops cell systems, lower organisms and nonbiological systems as models for use by biomedical researchers. Appling uses a yeast model to study the organization and control of folic acid-mediated one-carbon metabolism.
DRG Employees Honored at Ceremony
At the recent Division of Research Grants awards ceremony, Dr. Donna Dean, acting chief of the Referral and Review Branch, presented awards to various staff for their activities on behalf of the division and NIH peer review system.
A group merit award
went to the grants technical assistant council, which
includes (front, from l)
Ronald J. Livingston, Jr.,
Phoebe B. Allison,
Melissa Hinterlang,
Christine R. Hayter,
Barbara A. David,
Kathryn L. Ray-Cook,
Sherry L. Ernde.
At rear are (from l)
Joy A. Pinkney,
Lisa C. Klingensmith,
Christine L. Cecil,
Michael A. Showe,
Nena B. Wells,
Bonnie L. Ellis.
Not shown are Margot Faxton, Deborah R. Lovelace, Leslie D.
Littlejohn, Deborah A. Clemons. They were recognized for
"leadership in facilitating the transition to a dramatically
new work environment for DRG GTAs in the Rockledge
Bldg."
The NIH individual
merit award went to (from l)
Drs. Sooja K. Kim,
Gertrude K.McFarland,
Gilbert Meier, and
Suzanne Fisher for superior
performance and exemplary service.
A group merit award was presented to (from l)
Melanie Showe,
Wendy Hicks,
Dr. Anita Sostek,
Vieda White,
Carol Campbell, and (not shown)
Dr. Robert Weller "in recognition of a team effort in
managing an exceptionally high workload under difficult
circumstances."
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