Dr. Scott Blanchard, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, is the recipient of a $200,000 James D. Watson Investigator grant from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research. The award will help support Dr. Blanchard's research in developing novel imaging instruments that can be used to isolate and probe biomolecule structure and function at the single molecule scale to detect the activities of therapeutic agents used in the prevention and treatment of disease. The grant is part of the $225 million Generating Employment through New York State Science (Gen*NY*sis) program, which was created to maximize the potential of the world-class life sciences research being conducted at New York's public, not-for-profit and private academic research institutions. The Watson grant recognizes and supports outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show potential for leadership and scientific discovery in the field of biotechnology.
Dr. Chervenak receiving the Award in Science and Medicine from the Turkish Women Association, presented by Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (behind Dr. Chervenak).
Dr. Frank Chervenak, the Given Foundation Professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was recently elected for membership of the World Academy of Art and Science, a non-official network of 500 individuals from diverse cultures, nationalities and intellectual disciplines chosen for eminence in art, the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. Its activities focus on the social consequences and policy implications of knowledge. The international association was an idea originating some time after World War II by leading scientists and intellectuals, among them Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, who had played a part in the development of the atomic bomb and were deeply concerned about how it and other scientific advances might be used—or misused.
Dr. Chervenak has also been named the 2006 recipient of the Award in Science and Medicine from the Turkish Women Association, an honor recognizing Dr. Chervenak's dedicated service to education and care in the area of obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine. Among the honorees at the awards presentation, to be held in Istanbul in January 2007, are Lech Kaczynski, president of Poland; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister of Turkey; and Kadir Topbas, mayor of Istanbul.