NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars and alumni have been named winners of some of the most prestigious prizes in 2018. Among these awards are several that recognize current scholars for their work in three categories; Basic Science, Translational, and Innovation.
Since 2013, the Board of Directors of the International Biomedical Research Alliance have distinguished scholars in the program with scientific awards that recognize their dedication, hard work, and merit. Traditionally, these awards have been given at the NIH Global Doctoral Partnerships Annual Scientific Research Workshop, which rotates between the NIH, Cambridge, and Oxford. Since the 2018 Workshop was held at Homerton College, at the University of Cambridge in the UK from July 16-19, 2018, the awards were presented at the formal dinner there.
The NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program conducts an in-depth yearly review of the progress of all scholars in the program. During the review, the NIH Scientific Directors, led by Academic Dean Dr. Jim Sellers, assess the progress and scientific accomplishments of the scholars from each class year. Scholars in their third and fourth years in the program with significant research accomplishments were selected for award consideration. The chosen scholars’ accomplishments included the publication of first-author papers with significant findings and presentations made at conferences. Prizes are awarded in three categories: Basic Science, Translational, and Innovation and consist of an engraved statuette and a modest monetary prize.
The Gregory Paul Lenardo Basic Science Award, was graciously endowed by NIH OxCam Co-Founder Dr. Michael Lenardo in loving memory of his brother. It recognizes discoveries of fundamental cellular, molecular, or genetic processes using model systems that advance scientific understanding of biological processes in higher organisms and was presented to NIH-Oxford Scholar Reid Alderson. Reid recently graduated and is moving to Canada to pursue a post doc with Lewis Kay. His research focused on two fundamental aspects in biochemistry: understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein folding and the function and dysfunction of molecular chaperones, a class of proteins that help other proteins fold into their specific three-dimensional structures. These studies have been featured in journals such as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Nature Communications, among others, and highlighted in the magazine Chemical & Engineering News and endorsed by the website F1000 Prime.
The Translational Award for advances in the field of medical science that move fundamental discoveries from the bench to the bedside have been awarded to NIH-Cambridge Scholar Craig Pearson. This year marks the beginning of this award being endowed by Dr. Richard and Vera Siegel. Dr. Siegel founded the MD/PhD Partnership Training Program and he has served as a mentor and senior advisor to the program for many years. Craig’s research focused on the influence of extracellular matrix proteins on regeneration of retinal ganglion cell axons in the optic nerve. Craig co-founded the Peter Watson International Scholarship with a Cambridge colleague to support young scientists and awarded two winners a week-long trip to the NIH, where they visited laboratories, toured Capitol Hill, and presented their work. He has recently and successfully defended his thesis and is pursuing a medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis.
The Innovation Award For Novel Solutions in Biology or Medicine for discoveries of unusual importance, application, or magnitude that make use of new or unusual methods, paradigms or approaches to solve important problems in biology or medicine was presented to NIH-Oxford Scholar Jacob Seidlitz. Jacob’s work focuses on adolescence — a time of major physical, chemical, and biological changes, as well as a common period of onset for various brain-related disorders. It is crucial to develop methods that help achieve a full understanding of normative neurodevelopment, allowing better characterization of aberrant neurodevelopment. His work is focused on providing such an understanding through the use of brain networks generated from multimodal neuroimaging. He is looking at new ways to integrate multiple MRI contrasts in order to create a brain network “fingerprint” for an individual. In theory, these methods will be more robust to capturing an individual’s neurobiological profile, and thus more sensitive to inter-individual differences in behavior, cognition, and psychopathology.
We wish The International Biomedical Research Alliance 2018 Scientific Research Awards winners, and all of our scholars and alumni best wishes for continued success in the new year!
Current research on the adoption of academic and scientific values, whether stimulated in a classroom, an internship, work, a training program, or mentorship relationship, suggests that underrepresented minority (URM) students are more likely to pursue a science career if they internalize the values of the scientific community—such as believing that it is important to work to discover knowledge using the scientific method or that scientific research can solve many of today’s global challenges (Estrada et al., 2011).
On November 28th, Alexandra Ambrico — Special Projects Manager for the Alliance, spent the day at Medgar Evers College (MEC), part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, MEC’s motto “We create success one student at a time” – resonates with the aim of the Alliance. With a diverse student body representing all areas of New York City, approximately 75 percent of the students are female and over 96 percent are of African descent, with both groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The College participates in the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE), a program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The focus of this program is to increase underrepresented minority PhDs or MD/PhDs in the field of biomedical and behavioral sciences research. The program provides grants to institutions who have a commitment and history of developing students from populations underrepresented in biomedical sciences as defined by the National Science Foundation. RISE aims to increase the overall number of underrepresented students that complete a PhD and continue in biomedical research careers, thereby reducing the existing gap in completion of PhD degrees between underrepresented and non-underrepresented students. MEC’s Dr. Mohsin Patwary, Dean and Professor of Biology, Director, CUNY Research Scholar Program and Dr. Amal-Nur-E-Kamal, Professor of Biology, were awarded the five-year $2.2 million NIH Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) Grant. RISE Scholars participate in academic year and summer research internships with a research mentor in research active laboratories at MEC, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and several other research labs that have agreed to host MEC-RISE students.
Alex’s visit began with a meeting with the Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) Prep Program, whose aim is to provide the MEC students a competitive edge in the workforce. Meseret Tzehaie, the Director of the PBI Prep Program, Peer Mentor Kumba Jobarteh, and The School of Science hosted Alex, where she met with a group of science driven-students looking to pursue doctoral studies in the biomedical sciences. During this time, Alex discussed with the students, from Freshman to Seniors, the importance of pursuing a career in science and introduced them to the novel approach that is the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. After answering questions and getting to know the interests of the students, Alex was invited to the science building where she was asked to join a research class of the RISE Scholars to discuss the pathway for pursuing a PhD and MD/PhD and the experiences of the students in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program.
The students showed great enthusiasm and intrigue in learning more about careers in biomedical research, asking excellent questions throughout. In reflecting on the visit, Alex said “It was rewarding for me to learn that these students were familiar with the OxCam program and were excited to learn more about the accelerated experience. They asked pointed questions about applying to the program, choosing a mentor, and training/living in both the US and UK. What I thought would be a quick overview lasted over an hour and I was happy to stay and answer all of their questions.” Shel Lame Gill, President of the Medgar Evers Science Association, asked if Alex would come back at another date to talk to the students more and organize a science event.
Alex was invited to have lunch with Dr. Terrence Blackman, the Dean of the School of Science, Health and Technology and his colleagues. They talked about the benefit of these conversations and introducing students into both PhD and MD/PhD programs. Present at the luncheon was invited guest, Kevin L Gardner, MD, PhD, Senior Vice Chair, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University. Dr. Gardner also spent 25 years of his career at the NIH prior to moving to Columbia.
“We are very pleased that Alex took the initiative to visit MEC and spend a day with their students discussing careers in biomedical research” said Alliance president Randi Balletta. “The future of biomedical research – really good research – is very much dependent upon a melting pot approach to problem solving that includes all spheres of diverse research insights and subject populations. It is incumbent upon everyone who cares about research to strive to consider the importance of diversity in their lab.” The Alliance looks forward to continuing to encourage tomorrow’s scientists to reach for the stars today.
What do Drs. Justin Lathia and Stan Wang have in common? Besides both being NIH-Cambridge alumni, they are rising stars in their respective fields.
NIH-Cambridge Scholar and alumnus Justin Lathia, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic has been named one of Crain’s Cleveland Forty under 40. “The nationally renowned cancer stem cell researcher has contributed to the understanding and treatment of glioblastoma and other types of cancers. Lathia is known for his work with cancer stem cells, but says some of the new work in his lab has ‘the potential to change the conversation around brain tumors’” remarked Lydia Coutré.
“This is a great demonstration of the strength of the team we have built and our collaborative network that has resulted in a clinical trial in glioblastoma. Many of the skills necessary to make this happen were developed during my time in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, where I had to navigate multiple collaborations” said Dr. Lathia.
Alumnus and NIH-Cambridge Scholar Stan Wang, MD, PhD, has been named as one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Healthcare. The 2019 class of healthcare-minded individuals features a number of physicians, biotech innovators, and researchers all aiming to improve healthcare. Dr. Wang and two colleagues were on the list for co-founding Cellino Biotech. Cellino’s aim is to digitalize stem cell differentiation by applying the latest tools from optics, biology, and computation to engineer functionally mature cells. Their technology accelerates the development time of engineered cells from years to months, making “light speed” an ideal metaphor for their vision.
“Though honored by this recognition, I am inspired by the leadership, passion, and grit of fellow NIH-OxCam entrepreneurs, including Adam Knight, Michael Chen, Geoffrey Lynn, Andrew Ishizuka, Ambika Bumb, and Katie Warner. It is through our collective efforts as an alumni community that these advances in biomedical research will be brought to bear on impacting the lives of others” remarked Dr. Wang.
Our alumni are changing the way science, innovation and healthcare are progressing. We know that the current scholars and alumni will continue to thrive and be awe-inspiring rising stars.
The November 15, 2018 Lasker Lessons in Leadership talk was given by George Yancopoulos, Founding Scientist, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. The talk was followed by a Q&A discussion.
Tom Heyman will help to hone NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars’ entrepreneurial instinctsand cultivate their business development skills.
The International Biomedical Research Alliance, a non-profit organization which provides programming and funding support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, today announced that Tom Heyman is joining the Alliance’s board of directors. Mr. Heyman is president of the Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) and leads the J&J Venture Capital Group.
“We are excited to have Tom join our Alliance board,” said Stephen M. McLean, chairman of the International Biomedical Research Alliance board of directors. “Tom is an inspiring individual and an excellent mentor. He also has a wealth of global experience supporting entrepreneurs, whether they are developing pharmaceuticals, medical devices or consumer healthcare products, and helping them to transform their ideas into real solutions for patients. I know that the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars will benefit greatly from his wisdom, technical expertise, and funding insights.”
“I am delighted to become an International Biomedical Research Alliance board member,” said Mr. Heyman. “The Alliance does an excellent job of helping to train the next generation of biomedical researchers, ensuring that the Scholars develop the requisite business skills so they will be able to progress their research breakthroughs from the laboratory to the market successfully. I look forward to working with these young researchers and sharing my knowledge and experience.”
Mr. Heyman started his career with Johnson & Johnson in the legal department of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV in Belgium, focusing on legal and licensing activities.
In 1990, Mr. Heyman was appointed vice president of corporate development at Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson Company, and he was soon promoted to head of global business development for the Janssen Pharmaceutica Group.
Mr. Heyman returned to Janssen Pharmaceutica NV as CEO in 2008, a position that he held for eight years. He was also appointed president of JJDC in 2015.
In addition, Mr. Heyman serves as a member of the IMEC Board of Directors and General Assembly. IMEC is an international R&D and innovation hub, which is active in the nanoelectronic and digital technology fields.
Mr. Heyman was born in the Congo, Africa, and graduated with a Master of Laws degree from the K. U. Leuven in Belgium. He conducted his post-graduate studies in international law in Geneva, Switzerland, and business management at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
