Burroughs Wellcome Fund grants $9.75 million towards translational r...( RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK N.C. BWF has...),Health

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. BWF has named 13 translational researchers as the 2008 recipients of its Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research. The awards, which provide $150,000 per year over five years ($750,000), are intended to support established, independent physician-scientists who are dedicated to translational researchthe two-way transfer between laboratory research and patient treatmentand mentoring physician-scientist trainees.

The award provides the freedom and flexibility to explore scientific questions, apply the resulting knowledge at the bedside, and bring insights from the clinical setting back to the laboratory for further study.

The Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research is in its tenth cycle. The award is highly competitive with an average award rate of 9 percent. In the 2008 cycle, there were 119 eligible applications. Candidates must have an M.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. degree and hold an appointment or joint appointment in a subspecialty of clinical medicine. They must also be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and Canada and hold a current license to practice medicine in the U.S. or Canada.

We hope these awards will lead to better understanding of the mechanisms of disease as well as new methods of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease, said BWF President Enriqueta C. Bond, Ph.D. BWF is particularly interested in supporting physician-scientists who bring novel ideas and new approaches to translational research.

Since the awards inception in 1997, BWF has made a total of 93 awardsan investment of nearly $70 million in the careers of translational researchers.

Following are the 2008 award recipients, along with their institutions and project titles:

Mark S. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California-San Francisco
Translating aire-control of immune tolerance to human autoimmunity

Kathleen L. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Universit
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