Salk researcher named Damon Runyon Fellow

January 26, 2012

Salk researcher named Damon Runyon Fellow

Leading Cancer Research Foundation grants Fellowship award to top young scientist

January 26, 2012

LA JOLLA, CA—Lora B. Sweeney, a postdoctoral researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has been named a Damon Runyon Fellow.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, selected Sweeney as one of only 18 recipients at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review. The prestigious $156,000 award is intended to encourage the nation’s most-promising young investigators to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding to work on innovative projects.

Sweeney was sponsored by Christopher R. Kintner, professor of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute and Thomas M. Jessell, a Salk Non-Resident Fellow (NRF) and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics of Columbia University in New York.

As a NRF, Jessell is part of an elite group of scientists nominated by the Salk President and faculty who serve as Salk investigators for renewable six-year terms, advising the institute on appointments, promotions and scientific programs.

Sweeney is using the frog as a model to study how neurons diversify in the spinal cord as limbs develop and a swimming tadpole becomes a hopping frog. Many different types of nerve cells, each with their own unique characteristics, make up the healthy nervous system. Understanding how a cell’s fate is specified will provide the basis for understanding how cancer reprograms a cell.

“I hope tracking the same course as evolution—from swimming to limb-based movement—in a single organism that we reveal new principles of neuron identity, organization and ultimately, function,” said Sweeney. “As one of the first scientists to work on the metamorphic frog, we are developing a new system. It is wonderful to have the support of Damon Runyon on this pioneering journey.”

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists. This year, it will commit approximately $10.8 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

关于索尔克生物研究所：
索尔克生物研究所是世界顶尖的基础研究机构之一，其国际知名的教职人员在一个独特、协作和富有创造性的环境中，深入探究生命科学的基本问题。索尔克科学家们致力于发现和指导未来几代研究人员，通过研究神经科学、遗传学、细胞和植物生物学以及相关学科，在癌症、衰老、阿尔茨海默氏症、糖尿病和传染病的认识方面做出了开创性的贡献。.

学院取得了许多成就，获得了包括诺贝尔奖和美国国家科学院院士在内的无数荣誉。该研究所由脊髓灰质炎疫苗先驱 Jonas Salk 博士于 1960 年创立，是一家独立的非营利组织和建筑地标。.