Two Selected as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators
Two U-M researchers are among the 15 top physician-scientists nationally who were appointed Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators in October, one of the highest honors a medical scientist can receive.
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Arul Chinnaiyan (M.D. and Ph.D. 1999), the S.P. Hicks Collegiate Professor of Pathology, professor of urology and director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, researches the genes, proteins and other markers on cells to develop new diagnostic tests, screening tools and targeted treatments for cancer and other diseases. Chinnaiyan’s team has shown that fusion of genes actually causes prostate cancer to develop. The center brings together experts in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics to examine common patterns and potential targets in cancer and other diseases.
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Friedhelm Hildebrandt, M.D., the Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor for the Cure and Prevention of Birth Defects and professor of pediatrics and of human genetics, is an internationally known expert in the genetic basis of several severe kidney diseases that cause early renal failure in infants and children. His discoveries have led to new insights into the common roots of congenital kidney, eye and other diseases. In 2003, his lab discovered that common to these diseases is a defect in the function of cilia, structures cells use for communication with the outside (see “Secrets of the Cilia,” page 20). His goal is to discover all the principal genes involved in the diseases he studies to develop effective screening tests and treatments.
Through its flagship investigator program, the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute has joined with more than 60 distinguished U.S. universities, hospitals, institutes and medical schools to provide long-term support for Hughes investigators and their research teams.
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