NHLBI researcher and grantee are among the 2011 PECASE recipients

Dr. Susan Shurin - July 24, 2012

Two head shots - a young white man in a collared shirt and an African-American man in a lab coat

NHLBI principal investigator Justin Taraska, Ph.D. (left), and NHLBI-funded cardiologist Ervin Fox, M.D. (right), are among the 2011 PECASE recipients.

This week, President Obama announced the recipients of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE is the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. I am pleased to report that this year's awardees include one of our intramural investigators as well as an NHLBI-funded grantee:

Justin Taraska, Ph.D., principal investigator in the NHLBI's Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Imaging, was recognized for his studies on the architecture and control of vesicle fusion in excitable nerve cells. His work is helping us better understand how neurons transmit information back and forth across synapses and how this relates to human health and disease.
Ervin Fox, M.D., cardiologist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and an investigator with the Jackson Heart Study, was recognized for his work characterizing the environmental and genetic factors contributing to abnormal vascular function in African Americans and how vascular function relates to the development of hypertension, heart attack, and stroke in the population. His work could lead to improved risk assessment, management, and prevention of cardiovascular disease.

In addition to an official award ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution on July 31, Taraska and 19 other NIH or NIH-supported recipients of the PECASE will be honored at a reception in the NIH's Wilson Hall on August 1.

We congratulate all of the recipients on this outstanding achievement.