Guarente honored as biomedical research pioneer
Leonard P. Guarente, the Novartis Professor of Biology, will be honored on April 6 alongside two other pioneers in biomedical research by the Biotechnology Study Center of the NYU School of Medicine. Guarente is being honored for the discovery of sirtuins, key regulators of longevity in living creatures. Activation of sirtuins by resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, has led to trials of its analogues in the clinic.
Zimmerman repeats as all-around national champion
Capping a successful collegiate career, senior star gymnast Julia Zimmerman won the all-round competition for the second time in three years at the prestigious National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championship held March 20-21. Earning three more First Team All-American honors for finishing in the top six in the vault, beam and bars, Zimmerman became a 14-time All-American, tying a national record for most All-America honors in the history of the NCGA.
Zimmerman, who became just the second gymnast to capture the all-around title twice, was named the NCGA Outstanding Senior as voted by the member coaches. She is MIT's 12th individual national champion -- in all athletics -- in the last six years.
Bartolotta named National Player of the Year
Senior standout Jimmy Bartolotta was selected as the D3Hoops National Player of the Year in addition to honors as First Team All-American. Bartolotta, who holds numerous Institute records and is the NEWMAC's all-time leading scorer, was presented with the coveted Jostens Trophy at the site of the Division III Final Four last week. In addition to earning regional Player of the Year honors from D3Hoops and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), he was also named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year.
Edelman wins Hoeg research award
Elazer Edelman, the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, was recently awarded the 2009 Jeffrey M. Hoeg Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Award for Basic Science and Clinical Research. The award recognizes an established investigator in the prime of his or her career who has made an outstanding contribution to furthering understanding of the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and/or the development of treatment strategies for its prevention through basic science and clinical research efforts. The award will be presented during the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2009, which will take place in Washington from April 29 to May 1.
Associate professor wins Cope Scholar Award
Mohammad Movassaghi, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, was recently named a recipient of an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, given out by the American Chemical Society to recognize and encourage excellence in organic chemistry. The award includes a $40,000 unrestricted research grant.
Scheib tops list of N.Y. directors
Jay Scheib, an associate professor in the music and theater arts section, was named the number one theater director in New York by Time Out New York, an arts and entertainment publication. He was cited for "forging new ways of seeing drama" by "mixing multimedia with deadpan-cool (and very sexy) actors."
Khoury named chairman of AUB board of trustees
Associate Provost Philip S. Khoury, the Ford International Professor of History, has been named the chairman of the board of trustees at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Khoury will begin his term as chairman on July 1.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 1, 2009 (download PDF).
