Application Submission Deadline: October 15, 2010
Recipient Notification: February 2011
Award period: July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013
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The AASLD Clinical and Translational Research Awards in Liver Diseases are intended to foster career development for individuals performing clinical and/or translational research in a liver-related area and who have shown commitment to excellence at an early stage of their research study. The awards ensure that a significant portion of young investigators’ time is protected for research, with an overall objective of enabling young investigators to develop independent and productive research careers in liver disease.
The 2010 recipient of the AASLD Jan Albrecht Commitment to Clinical Research in Liver Diseases Award is Dr. Carla Coffin, sponsored by the University of Calgary for her research project entitled Molecular Characterization of HBV Reservoirs and mentored by Dr. Samuel Lee. Dr. Coffin has a long standing commitment to clinical and translational research related to the molecular virology of hepatitis B (HBV), beginning during her graduate studies and continuing throughout clinical training in internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Calgary. Although there have been remarkable advances in the field of hepatitis B research, HBV is still a major human pathogen causing life-threatening liver disease in millions of people worldwide. With unique patient populations and sample banks in addition to her clinical and research expertise, Dr. Coffin’s goal for this research project is to improve patient management in people with chronic HBV infection.
The 2010 recipient of the AASLD Sheila Sherlock Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases is Dr. Dahlene Fusco, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital for her research project entitled Identification of IL28B (Interferon Lambda 3) Stimulated Genes as Targets for HCV Antiviral Development and mentored by Dr. Raymond Chung. Dr. Fusco has been interested in intracellular processes that govern RNA behavior since her thesis work at Albert Einstein College of Medicine which included development of new technology for mRNA visualization. Her international work has underscored the importance of less toxic, less expensive hepatitis therapy to enable distribution of HCV medications in resource limited settings. Dr. Fusco’s goal is to establish a long term career as an independent investigator with a focus on hepatitis and particularly development of more widely accessible treatment.
The 2009 recipient of the AASLD Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases is Dr. Shikha Sundaram, sponsored by the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, for her research project entitled Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Mechanistic Links Between Hypoxemia and Liver Injury. Dr. Sundaram began her career in pediatric hepatology at Northwestern University in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Green. After obtaining a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation while in her fellowship period at Northwestern, Dr. Sundaram continued under the mentorship of Dr. Estella Alonso. In 2006, Dr. Sundaram joined the University of Colorado staff as an Assistant Professor and is sponsored for this award by Dr. Ronald Sokol.
The AASLD Sheila Sherlock Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases honors and recognizes Dame Sheila Sherlock for her pioneering research and dedication to young research fellows which helped elevate Hepatology to the discipline it is today. The 2009 recipient is Dr. Puneet Puri, sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, for his research project entitled The Plasma Lipidomic Signature of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). Dr. Puri's interest in hepatology began through interactions with his uncle Dr. Shiv Sarin - an academic hepatologist in India working in the area of portal hypertension. After receiving his MD and initial residency training in India, Dr. Puri continued his residency at the University of Massachusetts. In 2005, he began his fellowship in gastroenterology and then hepatology under the mentorship of Dr. Arun Sanyal at Virginia Commonwealth University. During his tenure at VCU, Dr. Puri has also been a recipient of the AASLD Advanced Transplant Hepatology Fellowship program.
AASLD thanks the donors to the New Challenges – New Solutions Campaign and the Liver Research Fund whose support makes many of the 2010 AASLD Research and Career Development Awards possible. This includes independent educational grants from: Astellas Transplant, Axcan Pharma, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals/Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Human Genome Sciences, LIFER, The Roche Foundation, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Additional grant support for the 2009 and 2010 AASLD Sheila Sherlock Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases by The Roche Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
Additional grant support for the 2009 AASLD Clinical and Translational Research Award in Liver Diseases from Salix Pharmaceuticals is gratefully acknowledged. AASLD is also providing support for this Award from its own operating funds.
Additional grant support for the 2010 AASLD Jan Albrecht Commitment to Clinical Research in Liver Diseases Award from Schering-Plough is gratefully acknowledged.
Previous AASLD Clinical and Translational Research Award recipients
Dr. Efsevia Albanis (2004)
Dr. Kiran Bambha (2008)
Dr. Alex Befeler (2001)
Dr. Scott W Biggins (2005)
Dr. Anne Burke (1999)
Dr. Kathleen M Campbell (2005)
Dr. Matthew Cave (2007)
Dr. Aymin F Delgado (2005)
Dr. Jordan Feld (2008)
Dr. Rena K Fox (2003)
Dr. Mary Ann Y Huang (2004)
Dr. George N Ioannou (2006)
Dr. Ravi R Jhaveri (2006)
Dr. Ningling F Kang-Decker (2006)
Dr. Karan McBride Emerick (2000)
Dr. Patrick G Northup (2007)
Dr. Keyur Patel (2004)
Dr. Hugo R Rosen (1998)
Dr. Tamar H Taddei (2007)
Dr. Norah Terrault (1997)
Dr. Aaron R Turkish (2005)
Dr. David A Weinstein (2002)
Questions? Contact Denise Seise or Kristin Hutcherson via email at awards@aasld.org or by phone at 703-299-9766.