Guertin Wins Damon Runyon Fellowship Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 29, 2003) — David Guertin, a postdoctoral associate in the Sabatini lab, has won a prestigious fellowship award within his area of research.

Guertin received the distinguished Damon Runyon Fellowship Award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The three-year award is given to young postdoctoral scientists who conduct exceptional research pertinent to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes.

Guertin was one of 19 recipients out of an applicant pool of 175 to receive this year’s award. “I am truly honored to be able to represent the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation,” said Guertin. “I am extremely grateful to the foundation’s scientific advisory board, as well as to the foundation’s contributors for making this fellowship possible.”

Guertin’s research focuses on investigating the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) network, which recently has emerged as a major regulator of growth control in many forms of cancer. His goal is to characterize the molecular basis of how human cells regulate their growth, and how cell growth control determines human organ and overall body size.

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a nonprofit, independent research and educational institution. Wholly independent in its governance, finances and research programs, Whitehead shares a close affiliation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through its faculty, who hold joint MIT appointments.