CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEXANDRA NEWTON, PH.D., BETH STEVENS, PH.D., AND RUDY TANZI, PH.D.

Posted November 17, 2019

Alexandra Newton, PH.D. of the University of California San Diego has received the Biophysical Society Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease. Dr. Newton is being honored for research that identified the role of deregulated protein kinase C activity in Alzheimer’s disease. In a press release from the Biophysical Society, President Dave Piston said: “The ultimate goal of biomedical research, no matter how basic, is to eventually have an impact on human health. Alexandra is an innovative researcher whose work on PKC disease mutations in causing cancer and neurodegenerative diseases is proving critical to developing new treatments and pathways to prevention. We are excited to call attention to her work in this area.” The Biophysical Society honors significant contributions to understanding the fundamental causes of disease or research that enables treatment or prevention.

Beth Stevens, PH.D. of Boston Children’s Hospital has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Stevens’ pioneering work has redefined our understanding of how the wiring in the brain occurs in early life and her research has uncovered novel insights into the mechanisms by which the nervous and immune systems interact in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. In a press release from the National Academy of Medicine, President Victor Dzau remarked, “The expertise of the newly elected members will be vital to addressing today’s most pressing health and scientific challenges and informing the future of health and medicine for the benefit of us all. I am honored to welcome these esteemed individuals to the National Academy of Medicine.” Membership in the National Academy of Medicine is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Rudy Tanzi, PH.D. of Massachusetts General Hospital and Chair of the Research Leadership Group for Cure Alzheimer’s Fund has been awarded the Dr. Frederic A. Gibbs Discovery Award. This award for scientific achievement honored Dr. Tanzi’s commitment to research identifying the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease. His doctoral thesis was on the discovery and isolation of the first Alzheimer’s gene – the amyloid precursor protein (APP) – and was published in SCIENCE. Dr. Tanzi was part of the team that discovered the other two early-onset Alzheimer’s genes known as the presenilins-1 and -2. This award was presented by the Brain Research Foundation in support of research that is groundbreaking with a likelihood of leading to novel therapeutic strategies.