{"id":1058,"date":"2021-11-05T00:40:56","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T00:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2022-03-23T16:55:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T16:55:48","slug":"cohen-innovation-fund-supporting-two-high-risk-high-reward-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/cohen-innovation-fund-supporting-two-high-risk-high-reward-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohen Innovation Fund Supporting Two High-Risk, High-Reward Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Aaron Conley<\/em><\/p>\n

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Houra Merrikh<\/strong>, professor of biochemistry, and\u00a0Teru Nakagawa<\/strong>, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, have both been selected to receive one-year research awards from the\u00a0Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund<\/a>. The awards will support groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting research, including Merrikh\u2019s study of the molecular drivers of evolution that enables cancer to develop resistance to drugs and Nakagawa\u2019s study of the biological significance of lipids associated with membrane proteins.<\/p>\n

Established through philanthropy in 2019 and named after the late Nobel laureate\u00a0Stanley Cohen<\/strong>, emeritus professor of biochemistry, the Cohen fund annually supports innovative early-phase research projects that are high risk yet potentially high reward. These awards honor Cohen\u2019s curiosity-driven seminal discoveries in growth factor signaling, which laid the groundwork for our understanding of embryonic and cancer development and led to the invention of\u00a0numerous anticancer drugs that are still used today. \u201cWe\u2019ve arrived at a moment of celebration,\u201d said\u00a0Larry Marnett<\/strong>, dean of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. \u201cThe Cohen fund has reached our initial goal thanks to contributions from donors and matching institutional investment. This model of co-investment\u2014where donors and departments come together\u2014is propelling some very exciting work here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrug resistance is among the greatest challenges facing modern medicine,\u201d said Merrikh. \u201cTo date, scientific innovation has not succeeded in outpacing evolution. Even with the advent of novel targeted therapeutics and chemotherapies, multidrug resistant cancers are still responsible for over 90% of cancer-related deaths worldwide.\u201d For her project, Merrikh proposes \u201ca fundamental shift in the scientific community\u2019s approach to drug resistance in cancer targeting the molecular mechanisms that promote tumor evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn More!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Aaron Conley Houra Merrikh, professor of biochemistry, and\u00a0Teru Nakagawa, associate professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, have both been selected to receive one-year research awards from the\u00a0Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund. The awards will support groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting research, including Merrikh\u2019s study of the molecular drivers of evolution that enables cancer to develop resistance to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2421,"featured_media":1059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n