Wenyi Wei, HMS associate professor of pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has been elected as a fellow to the section on biological sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) for his distinguished contributions to the cell cycle regulation field.
Wei’s research specifically illustrates how the misregulated enzyme bonding processes of the molecules phosphate and ubiquitin lead to irregular cell cycles. Such abnormal cell cycles can ultimately lead to the development of cancer.
Wei is one of this year’s 347 fellowship recipients, who have been recognized by the AAAS in 24 scientific sections. Fellows are nominated by current AAAS fellows and members, as well as the AAAS chief executive officer.
The AAAS has been honoring fellows for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science and its applications since 1874. The AAAS seeks to advance science, engineering and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.
Stuart H. Orkin, the David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics and associate chief of hematology/oncology at HMS and at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Vijay G. Sankaran, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics at BostonChldren’s, received awards at this month’s Boston Children’s Hospital Global Pediatric Innovation Summit and Awards, Taking on Tomorrow.
Orkin, also the chair of pediatric oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been awarded Boston Children’s Hospital’s Lifetime Impact Award, which recognizes a clinician and/or researcher who has delivered or developed practice-changing innovations or discoveries that significantly impact pediatric care.
Orkin worked in one of the first laboratories to apply molecular biology and DNA sequencing techniques to thalassemia, a blood disorder caused by defects in genes that impact the body’s production of hemoglobin. Orkin has also identified nearly every master gene, or transcription factor, involved in the hematopoietic process. These transcription factors regulate the development of every cell type in the body, allowing researchers to examine the originals of various blood disorders.
Most recently, Orkin has explored the roles of two molecular switches. One is a gene called BCL11A and an enhancer that controls its activity, which works in controlling the production of the adult and fetal forms of hemoglobin. Orkin and his colleagues are also investigating how to use gene-editing technologies to manipulate BCL11A to force red blood cells to dial down adult hemoglobin production in favor of the fetal form, thereby providing a genetic cure for blood disorders like sickle cell anemia and thalassemia.
Sankaran, who is also affiliated with the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, received the Rising Star Award by Boston Children’s Hospital. The Rising Star Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of an up-and-coming innovator or team of innovators under the age of 45 in the field of pediatric health care.
Similar to Orkin’s research, Sankaran’s work centers around manipulating BCL11A to target cures for blood disorders. Sankaran also investigates molecular research on Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA), which is a severe, congenital form of anemia. His work in this area has directly resulted in a unified model of biology that incorporates seemingly contradictory genetic discoveries around DBA into a comprehensive explanation of its biochemical structures.
Most recently, Sankaran’s laboratory discovered that tripling blood stem cells’ production of red blood cells is possible by deactivating the SH2B3 gene. Such a discovery may lead to a more cost-effective and efficient way to manufacture red blood cells for use in transfusions.
Carla Kim, HMS associate professor of genetics at Boston Children’s Hospital, has received the Lung Cancer Research Foundation’s William Ripple Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer for her project on precision medicine opportunities for for BRG1 deficient lung cancers.
Kim’s lab at Boston Children’s investigates the role bronchioalveolar stem cells play in the process of repairing lung tissue. Specifically, Kim’s research focuses on how BASCs behave during the differentiation process in healing tissues, which often involves blood stem cells producing specialized cells for the body, such as red cells, white cells and platelets, in lung cancer’s early and progressive stages.
In 2015, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation awarded a record $2.1 million in grants to 28 recipients to support projects across the country that focus on basic, clinical and translational lung cancer research.
Sampurna Chatterjee HMS research fellow in radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital has received a basic research fellowship from the American Brain Tumor Association for her project, “Improving immunotherapy of glioblastoma by enhancing vascular normalization.”
Chatterjee’s work focuses on understanding the effects of the tumor microenvironment on the delivery and success of immune blockers. Chatterjee’s research also examines how the tumor immune system can be directed to an anti-tumor phenotype and, ultimately, aid in the development of optimal combination treatment therapies.
The American Brain Tumor Association awards basic research fellowships to postdoctoral students pursuing high-risk, high-impact projects in brain tumor research.
Anders Berg, and David Friedman have received Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s The 2015 Dvorak Young Investigator Award for researching the genetic changes that lead to kidney disease. Berg is an assistant professor of pathology and Friedman is assistant professor of medicine, both at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess.
Berg and Friedman are basing their research on Martin Pollak’s early findings that identified variants in the APOL1 gene that explain why kidney failure occurs at higher rates in African Americans than in other populations. Pollak is the chief of nephrology at Beth Israel Deaconess and professor of medicine at HMS.
The Dvorak Young Investigator Award was established two years ago to honor Harold Dvorak, a Beth Israel Deaconess researcher whose work in angiogenesis helped develop a new approach to cancer therapeutics. The award recognizes outstanding biomedical researchers who pursue new ideas in science.
C. Ronald Kahn, the Mark K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has received the Harold Hamm International Prize for Biomedical Research in Diabetes for his work investigating insulin signal transduction. 
This biennial prize of $250,000 is awarded on the basis of scientific merit and the significance of the research outcomes on the field of diabetes research. It is the largest prize available for diabetes research.
Kahn and his team discovered the insulin receptor kinase and its two substrates, as well as molecular aspects of the larger insulin-signaling network. In his subsequent work, Kahn identified a link between insulin resistance and the development of Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis and diabetes.
In his current role as the chief academic officer at Joslin Diabetes Center, Kahn oversees faculty recruitment and doctoral and post-doctoral appointments. Kahn also served as the president of Joslin from 2000 to 2007, when, under his leadership, the center’s research capabilities increased twentyfold.
JoAnn Manson, Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School, has been awarded the Thomas B. Clarkson Outstanding Clinical & Basic Science Research Award from the North American Menopause Society.
Manson received the award for her contributions to the understanding of women's cardiovascular health. She was recognized for her pioneering research on the prevention of heart disease in women at mid-life and beyond.
Manson, also chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is one of the lead researchers on the Women's Health Initiative, the Nurses' Health Study cardiovascular grant, the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL), and several other studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
The North American Menopause Society, founded in 1989, is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health and quality of life of all women during midlife and beyond.
