Young Investigators Honored for Their Contributions by the American Association of Anatomists

Newswise — The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) is honored to announce its 2018 Young Investigator Award winners. All awards will be presented during the Closing Awards Ceremony at AAA's 2018 annual meeting at Experimental Biology (EB) in San Diego, CA. The ceremony is being held Tuesday, April 24, 2017, at 7:30 pm.

Young Investigator awards recognize investigators in the early stages of their careers who have made important contributions to biomedical science through their research in cell/molecular biology, comparative neuroanatomy, developmental biology, or the morphological sciences.

The 2018 Young Investigator Award winners are:

Morphological Sciences Award

Bhart-Anjan Bhullar,Ph.D. Yale University will be honored for his important contributions to biomedical science through research in the morphological sciences. He will present a lecture, “The Origin of the Avian Head as told by Transformations in the Fossil Record and Embryonic Development,” at EB. Dr. Bhullars group focuses on great transitions in the history of vertebrates. His talk takes place Sunday, April 22, 10:30 am PST, Room 11B, San Diego Convention Center.

R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology

Elçin Ünal, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, will be honored for her early contributions to the field of anatomy through discovery, ingenuity and publication in the field of cell biology. She will present a lecture, “Organelle Segregation and Quality Control during Meiotic Differentiation,” at EB.  Dr. Ünal’s studies the principles that control the nuclear and cytoplasmic integrity of gametes towards understanding how gamete formation counteracts age-induced cellular damage and how the meiotic cells partition their chromosomes. She will present her work Sunday, April 22, 10:30am PST, in Room 11A, San Diego Convention Center.

W. Mossman Award in Developmental Biology

Maksim Plikus, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, will be honored for his contributions to the field of developmental biology. Dr. Plikus will also present a talk, "Anatomical and Functional Landscapes of Hair Regeneration Across the Body,” at EB. Dr. Plikus’s lab focuses on the mechanisms of regeneration in skin, both under physiological conditions and upon wounding. He will speak Monday, April 23 at 10:30am PST, Room 9, San Diego Convention Center.

C.J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy

Helen Bateup, Ph.D., University of California, Berkley, will be honored for her contributions to the field of comparative neuroanatomy. She will give a talk, "Intersectional Genetic Approaches for Studying Dopaminergic Subpopulations,” at EB. Dr. Bateup's lab is broadly interested in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neurological disorders, with a focus on neurodevelopmental disorders and autism Her talk  is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, at 8:30am PST, Room 11B, San Diego Convention Center.

About AAA: The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) was founded by Joseph Leidy in Washington, D.C. in 1888 for the “advancement of anatomical science.” Today, via research, education, and professional development activities, AAA serves as the professional home for an international community of biomedical researchers and educators focusing on the structural foundation of health and disease. #anatomy18

About Experimental Biology (EB): Experimental Biology is an annual meeting that attracts more than 14,000 scientists and exhibitors from five host societies and more than two dozen guest societies. With a mission to share the newest scientific concepts and research findings shaping clinical advances, the meeting offers an unparalleled opportunity for exchange among scientists from across the U.S. and the world who represent dozens of scientific areas, from laboratory to translational to clinical research. www.experimentalbiology.org #expbio