On Sept. 8, 2020, Dr. Melanie Samuel was awarded the Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation. The Teaching and Evaluation award is given to individuals with a record of quality, quantity, and breadth of teaching and/or evaluation of learners, which matches or exceeds the evidence contained in standard-settings. She will be recognized for her accomplishments during Awards Day at Baylor College of Medicine in May 2021.
On Aug. 1, 2019, Dr. Meng Wang was awarded The SCBA Kenneth Fong Young Investigator Award. This award is presented to Dr. Wang for her seminal work on molecular mechanisms that govern somatic aging, reproductive senescence, and lipid metabolism. Her research harnesses the power of functional genomics, metabolomics, chemical engineering, and optical biophysics. She has discovered the lysosome-to-nucleus retrograde lipid messenger pathway and bacteria-derived metabolites in mediating host metabolism and longevity.
On Nov. 7, 2019, Dr. Weiwei Dang, assistant professor of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics and the Huffington Center on Aging, was elected to serve on the American Aging Associate AGE board of directors for the term 2020-2024. The American Aging Association promotes:
- Biomedical aging studies directed towards increasing the functional lifespan of humans with one goal being to slow the aging process;
- Keeps the public informed of the progress of aging research and of practical means of achieving a long and healthy life;
- Increases the knowledge of gerontology among physicians and others in the health field; and
- Fosters the scientific and professional career development of AGE trainees and scientific members.
As a board member, Dr. Wang will focus on AGE’s mission, not only to promote research in geroscience but also to foster the scientific and professional career development for the community members. I hope to achieve this mission by engaging young scientists, including junior faculty, graduate students and postdoc trainees, and promoting their work and ideas in AGE meetings and other social activities.
On Nov. 26, 2019, Dr. Meng Wang was elected as the 2019 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This honor is awarded to individuals whose effort has advanced scientific applications that are scientifically and socially distinguished. Dr. Wang’s pioneering contributions to the field of molecular genetics, particularly mechanisms underlying diseases of aging in the C. elegans model system relevant to human health, is the basis for her election in the section of biological sciences
Dr. Melanie Samuel, assistant professor of neuroscience and developmental biology and a CPRIT scholar, has earned Baylor College of Medicine's 7th annual Nancy Chang, Ph.D., Award for Research Excellence. Samuel, who is part of the Huffington Center on Aging, was selected for her project, "The molecular basis of neuronal susceptibility and resiliency in Kctd7 driven epilepsy."
Arianna Huffington offers wisdom for Huffington Center on Aging’s 30th anniversary
The Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine celebrated its 30th anniversary Oct. 17, 2018 with a special address from author and digital news visionary Arianna Huffington.
Dr. Meng Wang named Howard Hughes Investigator
Dr. Meng Wang has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator at Baylor.
Rapid and Integrative Discovery of Retina Regulatory Molecules
Dr. Melanie Samuel research shows how this new platform helps researchers uncover previously unknown regulators of retina neurons.
Dr. Laure Maneix was recognized by UT MD Anderson Cancer Center with first place in the poster presentation competition held Sept. 28, 2017. The Annual Postdoctoral Symposium aims to highlight outstanding research work by postdoctoral fellows in the TMC Community. Dr. Maneix presented her extensive work on the regulation of epigenetics and transcriptional dynamics by nuclear proteolysis in multiple myeloma.