Boettcher Foundation honors seven scientists with selection to Webb-Waring Investigators class

By: InnovatioNews Tuesday June 3, 2014 Tags: April Giles, Boettcher Foundation, CBSA, Denver, Tim Schultz

DENVER --The Boettcher Foundation Board of Trustees today released the names of the seven early-career scientists selected for the fifth class of Boettcher Investigators in the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program.

The announcement was made by April Giles, president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA). "Our association praises Boettcher Foundation for its ongoing commitment to this stellar program that assists early-career investigators in our state to continue their important research."

Launched in 2010, the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research program fills an unmet need in the state by assisting early-career investigators engaged in biomedical sciences to advance their research.

The program also honors the tradition of Colorado's Webb and Waring families by investing in science that has the possibility of making significant contributions to human health.

Boettcher Foundation is a Titanium Sponsor of the CBSA.

"The new class of Boettcher Investigators represents some of the finest scientific minds in the state, and we are honored to have the opportunity to support their research, which has the potential to have significant impacts on human health," said Tim Schultz, Boettcher Foundation president and executive director.

The 2014 Class of Boettcher Investigators in the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program includes:

* Kunhua Song, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, assistant professor of medicine - Regenerative medicine and heart development/disease

* Roger A. Bannister, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, assistant professor of medicine, Cardiology Division - Skeletal andcardiac muscle physiology

* Subhajyoti De, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and Personalized Medicine - Cancer genomics; lung cancer; somatic mutations; DNA damage and repair; algorithm development; optimization

* Loren Hough, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder, assistant professor of physics - Structural biology of order and disordered proteins

* Christopher L. Gentile, PhD, Colorado State University, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition - Molecular causes of vascular dysfunction

* Amy B. Dounay, PhD, Colorado College, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry - Medicinal chemistry for African Sleeping Sickness

* Rachel L. Zemans, MD, National Jewish Hospital, assistant professor of medicine - Resolution of Alveolar Epithelial Permeability after Lung Injury

Boettcher Investigators are awarded grants of $225,000, covering up to three years of research with a goal for these early-career scientists to establish themselves and become competitive for major awards from federal agencies and private foundations.

With the addition of the 2014 Class, there are now 29 Boettcher Investigators conducting research in the following Colorado institutions: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, National Jewish Health and Colorado School of Mines.

The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Program was created in 2008, as the result of an innovative agreement between the Boettcher Foundation, the Webb-Waring Foundation for Biomedical Research and the University of Colorado.

Through the program, Boettcher Foundation now invests more than $1.5 million each year into efforts to increase Colorado's competitiveness in biomedical science.

"We've made every effort to ensure that the legacies of the Webb and Waring families live on in the discovery of new knowledge to improve human health and in the advancement of young scientists," Schultz said.