Research News

The Research Education and Training Center recently announced the winners of the 2019 Lerner Research Institute Awards for Excellence, which, in part, recognize students and trainees for their scientific achievements.

The Postdoctoral Fellow and Graduate Student Awards for Excellence were awarded to two postdoctoral fellows and two graduate students, respectively, who submitted a first author article based on research conducted in Lerner Research Institute and who demonstrated high significance of their work. The award winners are as follows:

Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Associate Award for Excellence

Quang Tam Nguyen, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Inflammation and Immunity (Dr. Booki Min’s lab), won first place for his first author publication in JCI Insight titled, “IL-27 targets Foxp3+ Tregs to mediate anti-inflammatory functions during experimental allergic airway inflammation.” In addition to the publication of this article, Dr. Nguyen was selected in 2018 and 2019 to give podium talks at the American Association of Immunologists.

Benjamin Krishna, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Genomic Medicine Institute (Dr. Christine O’Connor's lab), won second place for his first author publication in PNAS titled, “Human cytomegalovirus G protein-coupled receptor US28 promotes latency by attenuating c-fos.”

Graduate Student Award for Excellence

Tyler Alban, Molecular Medicine PhD Program student, Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences (Dr. Justin Lathia's lab), won first place for his first author publication in JCI Insight titled, “Global immune fingerprinting in glioblastoma patient peripheral blood reveals immune-suppression signatures associated with prognosis.” While a graduate student at Lerner, Tyler has won countless awards including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Award.

Varadha Balaji Venkadakrishnan, Cleveland State University graduate student, Department of Cancer Biology (Dr. Hannelore Heemer's lab), won second place for his first author publication in Oncogene titled, “Protein Kinase N1 control of androgen-responsive serum response factor action provides rationale for novel prostate cancer treatment strategy.”

Dr. Sylvian Brunet Award for Outstanding Accomplishment by a Graduate Student

The Dr. Sylvain Brunet Award for Outstanding Accomplishment by a Graduate Student recognizes graduate students who have achieved a significant accomplishment in their training, including, but not limited to, a first author paper, presentation at a national meeting, obtaining certification in a new area or attending a workshop. This award was established in loving memory of Dr. Brunet and commemorates his commitment to furthering research education opportunities for junior investigators.

Shataakshi Dahal, Cleveland State University graduate student, Department of Biomedical Engineering (Dr. Anand Ramamurthi’s lab), won the inaugural award for her work investigating the utility of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived smooth muscle cells for matrix regenerative repair of small abdominal aortic aneurysms. One of Shataakshi’s most notable achievements is winning a 2-year predoctoral fellowship award from the American Heart Association.

Photo: Christine Moravec, PhD, Director, Research Education and Training Center (back left); Tyler Alban (back row, second from left); Varadha Balaji Venkadakrishnan (back middle); Benjamin Krishna, PhD (back row, second from right); Serpil Erzurum, MD, Chair, Lerner Research Institute (back right); Shataakshi Dahal (front left); Quang Tam Nguyen, PhD (front right)