Nine graduate students and postdocs receive GSA DeLill Nasser Award

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jun-2014

Contact: Raeka Aiyar, Ph.D. raiyar@genetics-gsa.org 202-412-1120 Genetics Society of America

BETHESDA, MD The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is proud to name nine early-career scientistsfour graduate students and five postdoctoral researchersas Fall 2014 recipients of GSA's DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics. The award provides a $1,000 travel grant for each recipient to attend any national or international meeting, conference, or laboratory course that will enhance his or her career.

"The winners of this award are young researchers who have already produced impressive research in important areas of genetics," said Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "In the spirit of Dr. Nasser's enthusiastic support of early-stage researchers, we are hopeful that the travel grants will provide useful support for the careers of these talented individuals."

The DeLill Nasser Award was established by GSA in 2001 to honor its namesake, DeLill Nasser (1929-2000), a long-time GSA member who provided critical support to many early-career researchers during her 22 years as program director in eukaryotic genetics at the National Science Foundation. The winners of the Fall 2014 DeLill Nasser Award are:

Postdoctoral Winners

Meleah A. Hickman, PhD, University of Minnesota, USA Research focus: "I study Candida albicans, the leading fungal pathogen of humans, and its sexual and unconventional ploidy transitions in response to antifungal drugs and environmental stresses in order to generate genetic and phenotypic variation and facilitate adaptation." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Judith Berman

Michelle D. Leach, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada Research focus: "I aim to understand the mechanisms by which pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans sense heat and activate the thermal adaptation mechanisms that promote infection." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Leah Cowen

Daniel A. Pollard, PhD, University of California, San Diego, USA Research focus: "I study how genetic differences among individuals affect the speed at which they make and break down proteins." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Scott Rifkin

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Nine graduate students and postdocs receive GSA DeLill Nasser Award