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Three young researchers named 2014 Pew Scholars

By Robert Sanders

Pew
Elçin Ünal

Elçin Ünal, newly appointed Pew biomedical scholar.

Three young UC Berkeley researchers have been selected as 2014 Pew scholars, The Pew Charitable Trusts announced this week. The researchers are:

Elçin Ünal, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology, who was selected as one of 22 2014 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. The award supports promising early-career scientists in the health sciences, particularly young researchers with innovative approaches and ideas.

Ünal studies yeast and nematodes to understand how cellular signs of aging are erased in reproductive cells to insure healthy progeny.

For information on the other Pew biomedical scholars, link to the Pew directory

Roberto Zoncu

Roberto Zoncu, one of five new Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research.

Roberto Zoncu, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology, who was selected as a member of the inaugural class of Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research. The Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust and The Pew Charitable Trusts launched this national initiative to support promising early career scientists whose research may accelerate discovery and advance progress to a cure for cancer.

Zoncu investigates how cells fine-tune their metabolism to take advantage of the nutrients available to them. This work could lead to novel therapeutics for treating cancers.

For information on the other Pew cancer research scholars, link to the Pew directory.

Daniela Paula Thomazella

Postdoctoral fellow Daniela Paula Thomazella, who was selected as a 2014 Pew Latin American fellow.

Daniela Paula T. Thomazella, a postdoctoral fellow from Brazil who will conduct research in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in the laboratory of Brian Staskawicz, was selected as a 2014 Pew Latin American fellow. The Pew Latin American Fellows Program has supported more than 200 promising young biomedical scholars from Central and South America to advance research in their countries.

The Staskawicz lab is exploring important crop diseases such as the devastating bacterial blight of cassava.  Thomazella hopes that this work will reveal how bacteria trigger plant disease and suggest novel strategies for producing a variety of disease-resistant crops.

For information on the other Pew Latin American fellows, link to Pew’s directory.

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