Cell biologist receives $500,000 'genius award' with 'no strings attached'
SEATTLE, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Roth, Ph.D., a cell biologist at
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is among 24 recipients of this
year's MacArthur Fellowships, a "genius" award given annually by the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Roth will receive $500,000 over
five years of "no-strings-attached" support.
Roth, a member of the Hutchinson Center's Basic Sciences Division, is
perhaps best known for his research in reversible metabolic hibernation, a
technique that one day may be used to help "buy time" for critically ill
trauma patients on organ-transplant lists and in operating rooms, emergency
rooms and battlefields.
"I'm just incredibly humbled and happy to be recognized by such a
wonderful organization," said Roth, who has pursued a variety of research
avenues, including studies on gene regulation, chromosome structure and
function, autoimmune disease and, most recently, induced metabolic
hibernation.
"The creative work I've been able to do has depended upon my
interaction with people from vastly different scientific backgrounds --
people whose scientific orbits wouldn't normally intersect with mine. I'm
hoping this fellowship will increase the possibility for more such creative
collaborations," he said.
The MacArthur Fellowship Program was established in 1981 and includes
756 Fellows. In addition to Roth, those honored this year include a
forensic anthropologist, a spider-silk biologist, a short-story writer, a
nanotechnologist, a choreographer and a master vocalist, among others.
"As a group, this new class of Fellows takes one's breath away," said
Daniel J. Socolow, director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, in a written
statement. "As individuals, each is an original. To the person, they
confirm that the creative individual is alive and well, at the cutting
edge, and at work singularly and powerfully to make our world a better
place. They are people who will change and influence our times."
Roth's work has led to major advances in basic biology, some of which
have tremendous potential for human health. In particular, his research on
induced metabolic hibernation, in which he has reversibly reduced the core
temperature of mice to 10 degrees Celsius without loss of life or
neurological problems, could one day lead to major breakthroughs for a host
of human ills caused by tissue damage from a lack of oxygen.
"Mark is an exceptionally creative and innovative scientist who has
pursued successfully more original avenues of research than anyone I know,"
said Roth's colleague Mark Groudine, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the Basic
Sciences Division and deputy director of the Hutchinson Center. "In all
cases, his rare ability to identify a seemingly intractable problem and
tackle it with unswerving focus -- even when it required him to learn a
completely new field, establish new collaborations, challenge conventional
wisdom or develop new technology -- has led to major advances in basic
biology, some of which have tremendous potential for human health. In
particular, his new research on metabolic flexibility could lead to major
breakthroughs in the treatment of stroke, trauma and cancer."
To help move this work forward into the clinical setting, Roth in 2005
founded a Seattle biotechnology company called Ikaria Inc., which earlier
this year merged with INO Therapeutics to become Ikaria Holdings, a leader
in the development of therapeutic gases for use in critical-care medicine.
The company, based in Clinton, N.J., also operates a research and
development facility in Seattle.
Earlier this year Roth received the 2007 Award for Significant
Technical Achievement by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or
DARPA, a major supporter of his work, for developing technology that "could
dramatically improve the survival rate of wounded fighters and provide
revolutionary improvements in the prevention and control of other medical
complications on the battlefield."
Roth, who joined the Basic Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center
in 1989, is also an affiliate associate professor of biochemistry at the
University of Washington. His numerous scientific articles have appeared in
such publications as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences and the Journal of Cell Biology.
He received a bachelor of science in 1979 from the University of Oregon
and a doctorate in 1984 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
For more information about the MacArthur Fellowship Program, visit
http://www.macfound.org.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams
of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent,
diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers,
including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for
health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more
information, please visit fhcrc.org.
CONTACT
Kristen Woodward
(206) 667-5095
kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org
http://www.macfound.org
CONTACT:
Kristen Woodward of the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center, +1-206-667-5095, kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
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