Newswise — Raymond Habas, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is one of this year's recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the U.S. government's most prestigious award for exceptional young researchers. The award was announced by the National Institutes of Health and presented at a ceremony at the White House with President George W. Bush on Friday, December 19.
The Presidential Award recognizes and nurtures the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge. As a recipient of a five-year, $1.3 million R01 research grant that began in April 2007, Dr. Habas met the criteria to be nominated for the PECASE award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of 11 different funding agencies in the program. A R01 research grant provides support for health-related research and development inline with the mission of the NIH.
"Dr. Habas has demonstrated exceptional leadership as a researcher and is highly deserving of the prestigious PECASE award." said Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, dean of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "I am very proud of Dr. Habas; his research is reflective of the high caliber of our faculty."
Dr. Habas' research focuses on understanding the role of the Wnt signaling pathway, a complex network of proteins, during the formation and development of an embryo (embryogenesis) and during in the formation of tumors in the body (tumorigenesis).
Wnt signaling has been demonstrated to regulate critical cell fate determination, proliferation, behavior, adhesion, migration and polarity during development. Wnt and its signaling components, in addition to playing a crucial role in embryogenesis, have been implicated in tumorigenesis and play causative roles in human colon cancers.
A resident of Hulmeville, Pa., Dr. Habas earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and performed his post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School and at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the National Institutes of Health, respectively. He joined the faculty of the biochemistry department at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2003 and became a member of the Medical School's Cancer Institute of New Jersey in 2004 and associate of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey in 2006.
The official news release issued by the National Institutes of Health may be found at: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/dec2008/oer-19.htm.
Media requesting a photo of or interview with Dr. Habas, should contact Jennifer Forbes at 732-235-6356.
About Robert Wood Johnson Medical School:As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey's premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,500 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs.
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