2011 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award recipients announced

Twelve graduate students from institutes throughout North America have been chosen to receive the 2011 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award sponsored by the Basic Sciences Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Nominations were solicited internationally; the winners were selected on the basis of the quality, originality and significance of their work.

The recipients, all advanced students at or near the completion of their studies in the biological sciences, will participate in a scientific symposium May 6 at the Hutchinson Center consisting of scientific presentations by the awardees.

The award, established in 2000, honors the late Harold M. Weintraub, Ph.D., a founding member of the Center's Basic Sciences Division, who in 1995 died from brain cancer at age 49. Weintraub was an international leader in the field of molecular biology; among his many contributions, he identified genes responsible for instructing cells to differentiate, or develop, into specific tissues such as muscle and bone.

"Hal was one of the most outstanding scientists of his generation, as well as one of the most unpretentious. Hal had the knack of identifying the important questions in biology and designing experimental approaches that were creative, simple and elegant," said Mark Groudine, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director the Hutchinson Center and a former friend and colleague of Weintraub.

"By nurturing colleagues, students and postdocs, and helping all of us become better scientists, Hal was instrumental in establishing the collegial atmosphere at the Hutchinson Center. We believe having a symposium recognizing the achievements of young scientists is a great way to honor Hal and the recipients of this award," said Groudine, who was instrumental in establishing the award.

The award recipients will receive a certificate, travel expenses and an honorarium from the Weintraub and Groudine Fund, established to foster intellectual exchange through the promotion of programs for graduate students, fellows and visiting scholars.

2011 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award Recipients

• Kevin Alby (Hometown: South Bend, Ind.)

  Ph.D. candidate, pathobiology, biology and medicine

  Columbia University (New York, N.Y.)

• Jason Gorman (Hometown: Lakeville, Mass.)

  Ph.D. candidate, biological sciences

  Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)

• Kevin M. Esvelt (Hometown: Portland, Ore.)

  Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology awarded in 2010

  Harvard University/Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.)

• Harry Benjamin Larman (Hometown: Portland, Maine)

  Ph.D. candidate, medical engineering and medical physics

  New York University Medical School (New York, N.Y.)

• Gabriel D. Victora (Hometown: Porto Alegre, Brazil)

  Ph.D. candidate, immunology

  Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.)

• Kellen Olszewski (Hometown: Houston, TX)

  Ph.D. candidate, molecular biology

  Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.)

• Stephanie Weber (Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.)

  Ph.D. candidate, biochemistry

  University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, Calif.)

• Lacramioara Bintu (Hometown: Onesti, Romania)

  Ph.D. in physics awarded in 2010

  University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif.)

• Lisa Rachel Racki (Hometown: Washington, DC)

  Ph.D. candidate, biochemistry

  University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada)

• John Calarco (Hometown: Toronto, Canada)

  Ph.D. candidate, molecular genetics

  University of Washington (Seattle, Wash.)

• Justin Siegel (Hometown: Belmont, Calif.)

  Ph.D. candidate, biochemistry (biomolecular structure and design)

  Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)

• Paula Montero Llopis (Hometown: Madrid, Spain)

  Ph.D. candidate, molecular, cellular and developmental biology

  Brown University (Providence, R.I.)

Provided by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center