Newswise — On Monday, April 12, the Biotechnology Study Center of NYU School of Medicine will hold its annual awards symposium to honor three leaders in the biotechnology industry who have made outstanding contributions to molecular biology, biotechnology and translational medicine. The Dart/NYU Biotechnology Achievement Awards recognize the role of pure science in the development of pharmaceuticals, and particularly honor those scientists whose work has led to major advances at the bedside.
The 2004 awards will be given to:
Matthew S. Meselson, PhD, the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard University, is a pioneering molecular biologist who has written extensively about chemical and biological weapons.
William P. Arend, MD, Professor of Medicine at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, is a renowned rheumatologist who discovered a natural anti-inflammatory molecule now used to treat arthritis.
Peter Elsbach MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine, is an international authority on the biology of infection-fighting white blood cells who discovered an antibacterial protein that is now being tested in clinical trials.
Reception to Follow Awards Ceremony
Dr. Gerald Weissmann, Director of the Biotechnology Study Center, will chair the honors symposium that will feature presentations by each of the awardees. The awards ceremony begins at 4 p.m., April 12, in Farkas Auditorium at NYU School of Medicine.
The ceremony will be followed by a public reception in the Faculty Dining Room. The Honors Program of NYU School of Medicine will co-sponsor the occasion, which is being funded by a generous contribution from Dart Neurosciences LLP, based in Dallas, in recognition of which these awards have been named. The Award Recipients
Matthew Meselson is a pioneering molecular biologist who has long campaigned against chemical and biological warfare. In 1957, he and Franklin Stahl proved that DNA duplicated itself utilizing a semi-conservative mechanism with an experiment that has been called "the most beautiful experiment in biology." Dr. Meselson is also well known for his inquiries into chemical and biological weapons, and he has been deeply involved in policy issues regarding the control of these weapons. He documented the role a Russian biowarfare factory played in a 1979 outbreak of inhalation anthrax in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinberg); and he showed that a dreaded "biohazard," yellow rain in Southeast Asia, was nothing more than bee feces.
William P. Arend is a distinguished researcher whose discoveries at the bench have had a true impact on the way rheumatoid arthritis is treated at the bedside. He discovered and isolated a protein called interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, a natural inhibitor of a potent inflammatory agent produced by the body. Amgen developed this antagonist as Kineret® and recently the FDA approved it for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. His laboratory is now investigating other forms of the antagonist, which may exert anti-inflammatory effects by interfering with the transmission of signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus.
Peter Elsbach is an international authority on the biology of white blood cells. In the course of pioneering studies of how these cells kill bacteria, he discovered an endogenous, powerful anti-bacterial protein called BPI (bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein). BPI kills bacteria and neutralizes toxins found in the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria. Scientists at XOMA are now genetically modifying BPI so it can be used as a therapeutic agent. Dr. Elsbach is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences Previous winners
This is the fourth year that The Biotechnology Study Center is holding an awards symposium. In previous years, Craig Venter, David Baltimore, Alexander Rich, Eugene Bell, among other notable scientists, were honored. The award also honors members of the NYU School of Medicine community whose achievements have resulted in far-reaching therapeutic advances. Steven Shak, Jan Vilcek and Barry Coller have received the awards in previous years. About the Center The Biotechnology Study Center brings together an extraordinary group of biomedical scientists, social scientists, legal experts, and business leaders, who are among the top movers and shakers in their fields. It was established in 2000 by Dr. Weissmann, Professor of Medicine at NYU School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Rheumatology, and Nobel laureates Sir John Vane of the William Harvey Research Institute, and Bengt Samuelsson of the Karolinska Institute, among others. In addition to its other activities, the Center serves as an academic center for the study of biotechnology as a discipline. It also provides an unusually rich resource for advice and expertise in the burgeoning field of biotechnology. The Center also is analyzing how biotechnology can have an impact on public health, and it is already pursuing innovative initiatives that could bring desperately needed experimental drugs into the clinic for the benefit of underdeveloped countries and underserved areas of developed countries.
A list of the Center's Fellows can be obtained by calling the Public Affairs Office at NYU School of Medicine.
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