(L-R) Steven Altschuler, Arnold Levine, Ben Black, Dylan Altschuler, Maitreya Dunham, Ted Price, Paul Chang, Sohail Tavazoie, Yuan-Xiang Tao, Michael Lin, Ming Li, David Prober, Agata Smogorzewska, Christopher Walsh, Alfonso Romero-Sandoval, Elissa Hallem, Samara Reck-Peterson, Briana Burton, Seena Ajit, Jeremy Dittman, Ye Zheng, and Steven Prescott. Not pictured: Aaron Gitler.
Our recent program for Rita Allen Foundation Scholars was a wonderful opportunity for our current award recipients to learn from each other and strengthen networks.
The June 22- 23 event, held at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, attracted many of our current Scholars. This was the Foundation's second program for current Scholars in as many years.
Dr. Arnold Levine of the Institute again served as chair.
In the opening keynote address, he described how the p53 family of genes, which he co-discovered, regulates germ line genomic stability resulting in stronger rates of genetic disorders, including autism and cancers.
The two-day meeting featured seven scientific presentations from Scholars and Pain Scholars representing the Class of 2009 and was attended by Scholars from the Classes of 2008, 2010 and 2011, and Members of the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Natural Sciences.
We also had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Christopher Walsh, another former Rita Allen Foundation Scholar, to discuss his work at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Walsh is affiliated with Children’s Hospital Boston and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Scholars enjoyed a guided tour of the Princeton Art Museum and dinner at Prospect House on the Princeton University campus as well as a walking tour of Princeton Borough that covered key sights and the area’s rich history.
A key objective of these meetings is to stimulate ongoing communication with our Scholars – both past and present - and our 2011 program achieved as much and more.