During its May meeting, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Board of Directors approved 10 recipients for the 2011 Career Awards for Medical Scientists. The 10 awards represent an investment of $7 million in the early stage careers of physician scientists.
The Career Award for Medical Scientists is a five-year $700,000 award for physician-scientists to bridge advanced postdoctoral training and the early years of faculty service. The award was first offered in 2006. This is the fourth award cycle and the first since the award was temporarily halted in 2010 due to the economic downturn.
Often with more focus on translating research into practical applications and therapies, the physician scientist plays an important role of connecting research and the patient. However, because of the multifaceted nature of the physician scientist, there is little early career support.
"The Career Award for Medical Scientists hopes to encourage physician scientists to continue in research," said BWF President Dr. John Burris. "They play an increasingly vital role in health research and care."
Joshua M. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D. was among other 2011 award recipients for his "Exploring the Genetics of Parkinson's Disease in Humans and Drosophila" project.