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November 16, 2007|Volume 36, Number 11


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Three faculty win nation’s highest
award for beginning researchers

Three Yale faculty members — Yale School of Medicine researchers Susan Kaech and Sven-Eric Jordt, and economist Dean Karlan — received Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor for beginning researchers in the United States.

They were among 20 individuals who were honored with a PECASE at a White House ceremony on Nov. 1. The White House Office of Science and Technology selected the award winners from among those taking part in the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program.

The award includes five years of support and is based on two criteria: innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology, and community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education or community outreach. The honored scientists are nominated by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Kaech, assistant professor of immunobiology, was ,selected for mentoring undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral fellows, and for characterizing the development of memory T cells in long-term immune protection. Memory T and B cells constitute the body’s primary system of defense against recurring infectious disease. The ability to form these cells is the ultimate goal of vaccination.

Jordt, assistant professor of pharmacology, was honored for conducting ethics seminars for incoming students, and for his research on the effects of environmental irritants in airway diseases and inflammation. His research focuses on how these irritants contribute to hypersensitivity and chronic inflammation in asthma, allergy, chronic cough and dermatitis.

Karlan was chosen for his contributions in the fields of behavioral, experimental, developmental and financial economics, and for providing students with hands-on experience in field experiments and international collaborations. His research is focused on social policy, particularly the effectiveness of different approaches to combating poverty with microfinance in developing countries. He is the founder and president of Innovations for Poverty Action, an organization that uses research techniques to evaluate policy solutions, and is a research fellow at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2006, Karlan became the co-director of the Financial Access Initiative, a consortium of Yale, New York University, Harvard University and Innovations for Poverty Action, launched with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its purpose is to generate knowledge on the nature of demand and markets for financial services for the poor in developing countries, and on the impact from efforts to expand access to finance, as well as to disseminate knowledge to policymakers, practitioners, regulators, donors and investors around the world.

The PECASE was established in 1996 by the National Science and Technology Council to support the continued development of the awardees’ research; foster innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology; increase awareness of careers in science and engineering; give recognition to the scientific missions of the participating agencies; enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals; and highlight the importance of science and technology for the nation’s future.


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Restoration of iconic Rudolph building is key step in . . . Arts Complex

Three faculty win nation’s highest award for beginning researchers

Bulldogs, Crimsons both bringing undefeated Ivy records . . .

A grateful nation

New technology allows view of protein interactions in living cells

Monkeys and children share adults’ tendency to rationalize choices

Noted composer Benjamin Lees donates his archive to Yale library

Museum joins with area public schools to promote ‘visual literacy’

A conversation in China leads to successful research collaboration

Junior faculty earn second terms in endowed posts

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS

Four decades of readers in Yale libraries are featured in exhibition

Video installations by Ori Gersht on view at British Art Center

Reception will celebrate United Way donors as campaign continues

Yale Books in Briefs

Benefit event to feature noted neurosurgeon

Workshop to feature Ohio State law professor

Reminder: Open enrollment period ends Nov. 18

Campus Notes


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