UW News

October 23, 2008

Kaeberlein, Li land new scholar awards in aging

Matt Kaeberlein, UW assistant professor of pathology, and Weiqing Li, UW assistant professor of biological structure, have received the Ellison Medical Foundation’s New Scholar Award in Aging for 2008.


The New Scholar award provides support for investigators beginning in the first three years after postdoctoral training, when they are establishing their own labs and their careers and are at a vulnerable stage. Beginning with the class of 2008 New Scholars, the Ellison Medical Foundation awards provide funding up to $100,000 per year for a four- year period.


Li studies how the insulin/IGF-1 pathway regulates development, aging, and metabolism in the model organism C. elegans, a tiny roundworm. Kaeberlein is studying the genes that function similarly to regulate aging in both yeast and worms, and hopes to understand how those genes work at a molecular level.


Kaeberlein and Li were both nominated by the University of Washington for the award, and join researchers from Duke University Medical School, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other institutions recognized by the foundation. For more on the awards, visit www.ellisonfoundation.org.