Molecular Medicine Awards

Craig Peterson PhD is the recipient of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2021 Dean's Award.   Craig is the Vice Chair and Professor in the Program in Molecular Medicine.

Roger Davis has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  The academy comprises artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors, the academy recognizes excellence and expertise among its members, representing innovative thinkers in every field and profession.

Paul L. Greer, PhD, Assistant Professor of molecular medicine, has received a 2019 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award, an honor reserved for exceptionally creative early career investigators who propose innovative, high-impact projects within the NIH mission.

Gregory Pazour, PhD, Professor of the Program in Molecular Medicine has been elected as a Fellow of ASCB, an honor bestowed upon ASCB members by their peers.

Victor Ambros, Ph.D. received a 5-year, $4.1 million Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) from the NIH NIGMS entitled "Genetic control of developmental timing".

Paul L. Greer, PhD, assistant professor of molecular medicine, is one of 15 young scientists in the chemical and biological sciences who have been named 2019 Searle Scholars. Dr. Greer will receive $300,000 in flexible funding over the next three years to support his study, A Novel Approach to Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis.

Victor Ambros, PhD, the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of molecular medicine, has been elected by his peers as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The discovery of “beige” fat has set scientists on a quest for new approaches to treating type 2 diabetes that harness beige fat’s ability to burn energy and accelerate metabolism.

The National Academy of Sciences has announced the election of Roger J. Davis, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the H. Arthur Smith Chair in Cancer Research and professor of molecular medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology.

Marian Walhout has received a 5-year, $4.1 million Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the NIH to continue her study of metabolism and gene expression and how they interact.

Appointed the inaugural recipient of the Maroun Semaan Chair in Biomedical Research.

UMass Chan Medical School scientist Craig L. Peterson, PhD, has received a five-year, $4.5 million Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health for research that explores the role chromosome structure plays in regulating gene expression, DNA repair and DNA fidelity during cell division.

Katherine Luzuriaga is named one of Time's most influential people.

Also awarded the following:
2015 Breakthrough Prize, 2008 Lasker Prize, Keio Medical Science Award and the Wolf Prize.

Joel D. Richter, PhD, professor of molecular medicine, is the inaugural recipient of the Arthur F. Koskinas Chair in Neuroscience, which has been established thanks to the generosity of long-time Worcester resident Helen P. Koskinas and her family in support of cutting-edge research at UMass Chan Medical School.

Gregory J. Pazour, PhD, professor of molecular medicine, received the 2015 Lillian Jean Kaplan International Prize for Advancement in the Understanding of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), for his discovery of the role cilia dysfunction plays in the disease.

Four distinguished faculty members were officially invested as named professors at the 2013 Investiture Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 19. And they, in turn, gave thanks to the benefactors who made the honors possible.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today named Jeremy Luban, MD, professor of molecular medicine and the David L. Freelander Memorial Professor in HIV/AIDS Research, one of three recipients of the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research. Dr. Luban will receive $500,000 per  year for five years to support his research.

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) today announced the recognition of outstanding research contributions by 63 life scientists from 14 countries. The researchers are awarded the life-long honor of EMBO membership, joining almost 1500 of the world's leading molecular biologists.

The Pew Charitable Trusts today named 21 talented scientists as Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. The program enables scientists to take calculated risks, expand their research and explore unanticipated leads. Scholars receive $240,000 over four years and gain inclusion into a select community of scientists that includes three Nobel Prize winners, three MacArthur Fellows and two recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award.

R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology Winners (became Young Investigator Award, now Early-Career Investigator Award).

Presented to someone who has made a distinguished contribution to the advancement of anatomy through discovery, ingenuity, and publications in the field of cell biology. The recipient gives a lecture at the AAA Annual Meeting. 

Smith Family Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research

UMMS has received two prestigious honors from the W. M. Keck Foundation:
Stephen Doxsey, PhD, professor of molecular medicine and biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, was awarded a Keck Medical Research Grant; and Job Dekker, PhD, a member of the Program in Gene Function and Expression and assistant professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, was named a Keck
Distinguished Young Scholar.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2006 was awarded jointly to Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello "for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA."

Roger Davis is a biochemist who is renowned for his work towards deepening our knowledge of protein kinase cascades — chains of biochemical events involved in the response of cells to environmental stresses and inflammatory agents. His research has greatly improved our understanding of the processes involved in cell growth and inflammation.

Currently, Roger is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the UMass Chan Medical School. Here, his laboratory is exploring the use of drugs to manipulate protein kinase signalling pathways for the treatment of human diseases, including arthritis, cancer and diabetes. He is a member of EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization, and is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.