The Hartwell Foundation
 

2008 Class Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards

Memphis, TN, April 01, 2009 -- The Hartwell Foundation today officially announced its 2008Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards, which provide funding to individual researchers at eligible research institutions in the United States for three years at $100,000 direct cost per year. The Foundation chose twelve Hartwell Investigators from twelve institutions to receive an Award:

  • James L. M. Ferrara, MD, D.Sc., Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, The University of Michigan, for "A Bioenergetic Strategy To Treat Graft Versus Host Disease"
  • David J. Hackam, MD, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Surgery and Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, for "Discovering Novel Immune Modulatory Agents Using High Content Screening in the Treatment of Neonatal Necrotizing Entercolitis"
  • Brian P. Helmke, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, for "Ciliated Pediatric Endotracheal Tube for Active Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia "
  • Laura J. Knoll, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Wisconsin Madison, for "Using a Mutant Microbe to Help Us Understand the Relationship Between Inflammation and Obesity"
  • Louise Chang Laurent, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Reproductive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, for "Reprogramming of Fibroblasts Using MicroRNAs for Autologous Cell Replacement Therapy for Juvenile Diabetes"
  • J. Kent Leach, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University California, Davis, for "Engineered Composite Materials for Treating Premature Suture Fusion in Infants"
  • David C. Lyden, MD, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, for "Bone Marrow-Derived Stromal Cell Contribution in Medullablastoma"
  • Mala Mahendroo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, for "Predicting Preterm Labor: Evaluation of Second Harmonic Generation Endoscopy as a Potential Clinical Tool"
  • Michael R. Taylor, Ph.D., Assistant Member, Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, for "Genetic and Chemical Dissection of the Blood-Brain Barrier"
  • Cynthia Toth, MD, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University, for "Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging of Infant Eyes: A Practical Diagnostic Tool and Methodology"
  • Joyce Y. Wong, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, for "Development of Tissue Engineering Solutions for Pediatric Vascular Surgical Repair and Reconstruction"
  • Samuel P. Yang, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, for "Development of an Electrokinetic-based Lab Chip for Rapid Diagnosis of Pediatric Sepsis"

The Hartwell Foundation is honored to provide financial support to these exceptional researchers pursuing applied biomedical research to advance children’s health. The twelve award-winning research proposals from 2008 represent innovative and cutting edge technology from disciplines that include molecular biology, diagnostics, imaging, infectious disease, tissue engineering and neurobiology. The Foundation also made twelve awards to individual researchers in both 2006 and 2007.

In selecting awardees, The Hartwell Foundation takes into account the nature of the proposed innovation, the extent to which a translational approach might promote rapid clinical application of research results, the supportive role and extent of collaboration in the proposed research, and the institutional commitment to provide encouragement and technical support to the investigator. The Hartwell Foundation seeks to inspire innovation and achievement by funding early-stage, transformative ideas with the potential to benefit kids of the United States.

 

2008 Hartwell Investigator James L. M. Ferrara, MD, D.Sc., The University of Michigan

2008 Hartwell Investigator David J. Hackam, MD, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

2008 Hartwell Investigator Cynthia Toth, MD, Duke University

2008 Hartwell Investigator David Lyden, MD, Ph.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University

2008 Hartwell Investigator Brian P. Helmke, Ph.D., University of Virginia

2008 Hartwell Investigator Laura J. Knoll, Ph.D., The University of Wisconsin Madison

2008 Hartwell Investigator Joyce Y. Wong, Ph.D., Boston University

2008 Hartwell Investigator Louise Laurent, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

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