2006 Inaugural Class of Hartwell Fellows

Contact: Frederick Dombrose, Ph.D. - 916.753.8486 - fdombrose@sasco.com

Memphis, TN, December 29

The Hartwell Foundation today announced its 2006 inaugural class of Hartwell Fellowships, which provide funding to US citizens for postdoctoral training in biomedical science at select research institutions in the United States.  The Fellowships offer support for two years to support scientists in the early stages of biomedical research careers by enabling them to pursue further specialized training as part of their career development.

Qualifying institutions chose the following individuals to receive a Hartwell Fellowship:

• Nancie Jo MacIver, MD, Ph.D., School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University
• Samantha A. Cicero, Ph.D., Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Jennifer K. Lee, MD, Department of Pediatric Critical Care, The Johns Hopkins University
• Stephanie Kaddison, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, The University of Michigan
• James H. Holmes, Ph.D., Department of Medical Physics, The University of Wisconsin Madison
• Walter Sipe, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco
• Nathan J. Sniadecki, Ph.D., Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
• Kristie Henchir Burgess, Ph.D. (April 2007), Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
• Katherine L. Lillard, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

 “The Hartwell Foundation is honored to provide financial support to these outstanding young scientists.  Each qualifying institution chose an exceptional individual of high promise in the field of biomedical research,” said Frederick Dombrose, Ph.D., and President of the Foundation.  “The Hartwell Fellowship enables the recipient to achieve professional training in an area of science that they passionately wish to pursue,” Dr. Dombrose added. 

BACKGROUND:
In September of this year, The Hartwell Foundation announced its 2006 Top Ten Centers of Biomedical Research.  At that time, the Foundation asked each selected institution to hold an internal competition to nominate four principal investigators for a Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award, which provides financial support to each investigator for three years.  The selection process for determining Award recipients required each institution to identify candidates eager to pursue early-stage, innovative, and cutting-edge biomedical research, which had not yet qualified for funding from outside sources and would benefit children of the United States.  Only institutions fully participating in the Foundation's selection process for a Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award qualified to receive a Hartwell Fellowship (described above), for which they were entitled to designate an individual of their choice.

The Hartwell Foundation selects centers of research excellence in a qualification process that takes into account the shared values the institution has with The Hartwell Foundation relating to children’s health, while also considering the presence of a medical school, biomedical engineering, and the quality and scope of ongoing research.  The Foundation also takes into account the institutional commitment to provide technical support to the investigator, as well as to translational approaches that promote rapid clinical application of research results to the patient, including technology transfer.  The Foundation has determined that selection of an institution in any given year will not guarantee selection in a subsequent year.