May 21, 2009
Thomas Hawn wins Burroughs Wellcome Award
Dr. Thomas Hawn, UW assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, is one of four scientists to receive the Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s (BWF) 2009 Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research.
The award, which provides $150,000 per year over five years, is intended to support established, independent physician-scientists who are dedicated to translational research (the two-way transfer between laboratory research and patient treatment). Hawn’s project title is Variation and Regulation of Innate Immunity to Mycobacteria. Researchers must also be committed to mentoring physician-scientist trainees.
The award provides the freedom and flexibility to explore scientific questions, apply the resulting knowledge at the bedside, and bring insights from the clinical setting back to the laboratory for further study.
“The recipients of the Clinical Scientist Award excel not only in research, but also in mentoring the next generation of clinical scientists,” said BWF President Dr. John Burris. “By making mentoring a priority, we hope to contribute to the future pipeline of clinicians conducting research.”
Since the award’s inception in 1997, BWF has made a total of 97 awards, which is an investment of nearly $73 million in the careers of translational researchers.
Others who received the award this year are: Dr. Robert O. Heuckeroth, Washington University: Dr. Ari Melnick, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Dr. Stephanie Ware, University of Cincinnati.
For more information about the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, visit www.bwfund.org
