New Scientists Boost Disease-based Research at Boston Biomedical Research...( Seven new hires are f...)

Seven new hires are fruits of strategic plan

WATERTOWN, Mass., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning a new era of growth and discovery, Boston Biomedical Research Institute, an independent not-for- profit biomedical research institute located in Watertown, MA, has recruited seven new scientists, a 23% increase in its scientific staff.

The seven newly hired scientists are the fruits of a three-year strategic planning process designed to refine the Institute's basic research agenda into four core areas -- Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Regenerative Biology and Degenerative Disease, and Proteomics. "These core initiatives build upon the Institute's existing scientific strengths in protein-based basic research which uses disease models to find powerful new therapeutics for a range of illnesses, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and muscular dystrophy, among others," says Institute Director, Dr. Charles P. Emerson, Jr.

The new scientists include Dr. James L. Sherley who is studying adult stem cells with relevance to a range of problems associated with aging and how cancer forms; Dr. Shinichi Takayama who is researching a family of proteins known as BAG which plays a role in muscle degeneration and cancer, and is key to cell movement; Dr. Martin Duennwald and Dr. Moonkyoung Um and their collaborative research in the area of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases; Dr. Oliver King who will begin a new program in computational biology at BBRI, and whose research involves understanding the evolution of proteins involved in neurodegenerative disorders; Dr. Kent Nybakken who is studying the function of a key signaling pathway, the Hedgehog pathway, which is important in normal development, stem cell regulation and cancer; and Dr. Sachiko Homma whose studies focus on sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle mass that occurs with aging.

"By hiring new scientists in these key areas
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