biomedical engineering awards
Two Yale scientists have won Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Translational Research Awards in Biomedical Engineering.
The winners, Erin Lavik and Tarek Fahmy, are both assistant professors in biomedical engineering.
The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to improving human health care by supporting translational research in biomedical engineering. The awards are intended to encourage and assist investigators as they establish themselves in academic research careers that involve translational research. Those receiving an award must have a primary appointment in a biomedical engineering department, be collaborating with an investigator in a practicing clinical environment and have received a doctoral degree within the previous six years.
Lavik received the award for her project "Sustained delivery of timolol maleate for management of elevated IOP for glaucoma," in collaboration with Young Kwon and Markus Kheun at the University of Iowa.
"There are medications that lower intraocular pressure (IOP) very successfully, but need to be administered several times a day," explains Lavik. "Unfortunately, many patients with glaucoma are not able to administer eye drops several times a day effectively, and they suffer increased IOP, nerve damage, and ultimately may lose their sight. By developing a long-term delivery system, we seek to ease this problem and lay the foundation for the delivery of other drugs in the eye."
Fahmy received the award for his project "Multimodal nanoparticles for targeting autoimmune T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus: A strategy for non-invasive diagnosis and targeted drug delivery," a collaboration with Joseph Craft in the Department of Immunobiology at Yale.
"We have developed a platform technology that promises to simultaneously detect cells that cause autoimmune disease by magnetic resonance imaging, and deliver drugs to those cells," says Fahmy. "The approach is driven by an expert understanding of the basic and clinical science coupled to a promising novel nanotechnology that is rapidly translatable to the clinical setting."
W. Mark Saltzman, professor and chair of Yale's Department of Biomedical Engineering, says, "These Early Career Awards acknowledge excellent science, and are specifically targeted to innovative biomedical engineering research that will impact clinical care. Excellence in translational medicine is the focus of our new department."
The awards are for two years of research funding, and winners will be honored at an event in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society in October.
The awards program honors the belief of the foundation's benefactor, Wallace H. Coulter, that the results of research must be taken to the stage of a commercially viable product in order to truly benefit humanity. Coulter's discovery of an electronic method of counting and classifying microscopic particles suspended in fluid led to the development of an apparatus to count and classify blood cells, a procedure previously done manually. The "Coulter Counter" revolutionized the practice of clinical laboratory medicine.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University launches 'Yale Tomorrow' campaign
Gift of $50 million to create Greenberg Yale-China Initiative
Greenberg: 'Flexibility' will be key Yale asset in China
Program will educate corporate leaders about . . . climate change
V.P. and union president co-chairing Yale-United Way Campaign
This year's 'Science Saturdays' for children celebrates women scientists
Alumnus Robert Burger is named an assistant provost
MEDICAL CENTER NEWS
Yale receives $7.2 million grant for cardiovascular imaging
Team finds promising treatment for hookworm
Training program may help control behavior of children with TS
Study: Vets often sicker than civilians with same illness
Genetics may play a role in premature infants' lung problems . . .
Keck Foundation honors endocrinologist for insulin research
More Yale-related MacArthur Fellows
Yale's Endowment earns 22.9% in the past fiscal year
Erin Lavik and Tarek Fahmy win biomedical engineering awards
Are we alone? 'Alien Earths' explores scientists' quest to find out
Exhibit explores connections between art and music in different period
Yale novelists, poets and playwrights will read from their works
Works by photojournalists in Iraq on view at ISM
Study finds affirmation exercise boosts minority . . .
Conference to explore ways to increase diversity in higher education
Traveling Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival comes to campus
Ancient coins will be showcased in 'The Romans in Asia' symposium
Two noted scientists serving as visiting scholars . . .
Five alumni to be honored with Wilbur Lucius Cross Medals
Five junior faculty members are honored by The MacMillan Center . . .
Memorial service for Jaroslav Pelikan
University of Michigan professor wins Yale's Douglass Prize
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home