12/23/2008
NBTS research grant recipient Amy Heimberger, MD recently received the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent scientific research careers.
Amy Heimberger, MD receives Presidential Early Career Award
December 2008 – National Brain Tumor Society research grant recipient Amy Heimberger, MD recently received the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent scientific research careers. The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers recognizes experts whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge.
In the fall of 2008, NBTS awarded Dr. Heimberger a grant for a specific investigation related to immunotherapy, a key area of brain tumor research. NBTS is currently funding Dr. Heimberger's work through the Kayla Wenger Chair of Research.
In a letter of congratulations to Dr. Heimberger, NBTS Founding Executive Director N. Paul TonThat wrote:
"Your focus on immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of patients with gliomas is meaningful to the brain tumor community.
NBTS is proud to fund your ongoing investigation into inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. This research grant reflects our own belief in both the value and the high caliber of your scientific pursuits.
For the National Brain Tumor Society as an organization, and on behalf of the patients who we all serve, it is a great pleasure to see your personal contributions to the field recognized at the highest level."
"We are supporting preclinical studies by Dr. Heimberger that look at the effect of a drug, WP1066, that inhibits STAT3 on gliomas in an animal model," said NBTS Chief Scientific Officer David R. Hurwitz, PhD. "Inhibiting this key pathway can have a two-fold effect in fighting a glioma, since STAT3 plays a role in stimulating tumor growth as well as inhibiting the body's natural immune response to tumor cells."
Learn more about Dr. Heimberger's NBTS-funded investigation and other NBTS grant recipients.
More about Dr. Heimberger
From M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/uotm-mda121908.php
