Sharon Gerecht’s stem cell research has benefitted from innovative thinking across disciplines as diverse as materials chemistry, engineering, and cell biology. Today, she was encouraged to continue breaking new ground as President Ronald J. Daniels
and Provost Robert C. Lieberman presented her with the inaugural President’s Frontier Award in the amount of $250,000. [Read the full article here:
http://hub.jhu.edu/2015/01/...]
“Sharon embodies the best traditions of Johns Hopkins research: vision, collaboration and tireless pursuit of discovery.” President Daniels said. “This award reflects our commitment to her work and the advances she is poised to make in the
field of stem cell research.”
Gerecht, an associate professor in the Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has identified ways to control the fate of
stem cells, which are the most fundamental building blocks of tissues and organs.
She has coaxed them to form complex blood vessels—for the first time growing vessels in a synthetic material— that can feed the generation of new organs like the heart. She has also studied how to stifle their growth to starve cancer cells and inhibit metastasis.
The Frontier Award was made possible by a generous donation from trustee Louis J. Forster, A&S ’82, SAIS ’83, and Kathleen M. Pike, SAIS Bol ’81 (Dipl), A&S ’82, ’83 (MA). It will recognize one person each year for five years with financial support for
their research expenses. The inaugural year brought forward a highly competitive pool of 77 nominees demonstrating excellence in a wide array of academic pursuits across divisions.
In addition to the winner, President Daniels is also recognizing three outstanding finalists with a gift of $50,000 to support their research and advance their academic pursuits. They are:
Scott Bailey, associate professor in the Bloomberg School of Public
Samer Hattar, associate professor in the Krieger School of Arts
Sean Sun, associate professor in the Whiting School of Engineering
The Presidents Frontier Award program launches a series of efforts by university leadership to support faculty as they pursue innovative and important research.
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