Collaboration, translational research garner 2005 DeBakey Awards

HOUSTON -- (November 22, 2005) -- Collaboration, translational science and innovations in neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics mark the scientific accomplishments of six researchers awarded the 2005 Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. Excellence in Research Awards this year at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The awardees include Drs. Helen Heslop, Cliona Rooney, Josef Prchal, Adam Kuspa, Gad Shaulsky and P. Read Montague, Jr. Each recipient receives a DeBakey medallion and funding for research in their laboratories.

The team of Heslop, professor of medicine and pediatrics, and Rooney, professor of virology and pediatrics, epitomize the collaborative spirit of the Center for Cellular and Gene Therapy at BCM, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital. Over the past three years, Heslop, a physician-scientist, and Rooney, a bench scientist, have developed an immunotherapy for cancer using disease-fighting T-cells in the treatment of relapsed or difficult-to-treat Hodgkin disease and cancer of the nose and pharynx. Rooney's work has long centered on understanding the Epstein-Barr virus, which can cause devastating disease in patients who have received stem cell transplants as well as malignancies in patients with normal immune systems. Her collaborator Heslop, a physician who cares for such patients, helped translate the laboratory findings into the clinic to treat these cancers.

Kuspa, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Gad Shaulsky, associate professor of molecular and human genetics, received the award for their research on functional genomics in the soil amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Kuspa initiated the Dictyostelium genome-sequencing project and was responsible for its recent completion. Shaulsky participated in the genome annotation effort and initiated the global analysis of gene expression.

Kuspa and Shaulsky also pioneered the functional analysis of the genome. They developed methods for mutating most of the genes to discover the functions of those genes.

Prchal, professor of medicine at BCM, combines the qualities of a scientist and bedside physician - a true translational researcher. He was the first to define the molecular basis for a congenital disorder of augmented hypoxia response; i.e. Chuvash polycythemia. Prchal has also made significant contributions to the understanding of red cell metabolism, the generation of blood cells and iron metabolism.

Montague, professor of neuroscience and director of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory at BCM, has concentrated in the area of functional magnetic resonance imaging and hyperscanning to understand key human relationships, in particular trust. Montague's work evaluates how the brains of two people function as they interact socially even though they may be thousands of miles apart. This was made possible by hyperscanning, a technology which Montague invented.

Nominations are based on significant published contributions to clinical or basic biomedical research during the past three years. The DeBakey Medical Foundation provides funding for the awards.