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| Vol. 22, No. 8 |
| May 1, 2000 |
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March of Dimes Endows Chair in Developmental Biology at BCM
The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the March of Dimes has given $1 million to Baylor College of Medicine to endow a chair in developmental biology at the school. The check was presented in ceremonies on April 12. "The March of Dimes has had the foresight to recognize that basic research drives the future of medicine," said Dr. Ralph Feigin, president of Baylor, in accepting the check which was presented by Dr. Michael Katz, vice president for research at the March of Dimes, and Susan Whitworth, president of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. "The March of Dimes has focused on the health of babies for 62 years, and has been a partner with Baylor for over 50 years," said Whitworth. "These funds are the engine that will propel the research," said Dr. Katz. That research will focus on molecular and genetic approaches in the study of various aspects of diseases. At Baylor, the developmental biology effort involves 34 faculty in seven different departments. Dr. Hugo Bellen will hold the chair that the March of Dimes is endowing. He is a Howard Hughes Investigator, professor of molecular and human genetics and director of the program in developmental biology at Baylor. "This [endowment] will go a long way towards facilitating research that will help us uncover additional genetic causes of disease and to better understand abnormal growth," said Dr. Bellen. Attending the announcement and check presentation were Haley Culpepper and her mother, Dottie. Haley, 9 years old, benefited from genetic research. She was fortunate to have an early diagnosis of PKU, an inherited disorder that, if left untreated, causes mental retardation. Today she is just like other kids her age and is especially active in gymnastics. - ROGER WIDMEYER
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/05_01_00/page_17.html |
