Daniel T. Chiu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Chemistry University of Washington, Seattle Dr. Chiu has developed methods to extract synaptic vesicles from neurons. The contents of these vesicles can then be analyzed or even altered and subsequently placed back into the neuron. His studies will aid in the understanding of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Adrian Ferré-D'Amaré, Ph.D. Assistant Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Affiliate Assistant Professor of Biochemistry University of Washington, Seattle Dr. Ferré-D'Amaré has devised techniques that significantly simplify the crystallization of RNA enzymes. This difficult step must be overcome in order to reveal the structure of the molecule. He has also developed methods to visualize the atomic details of catalytic RNA in action. F. Nina Papavasiliou, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and Head, Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology Rockefeller University Dr. Papavasiliou studies how hypermutation occurs in B cells, a mechanism by which antibodies are tailored to specific antigens. She will also explore how this process spares other cells in the body where such mutations would be dangerous. Kevin P. White, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Genetics Yale University Dr. White combines computational and experimental methods to analyze how complex networks of genes control development in Drosophila. Tracing how a single gene interacts with many others helps in predicting the biochemical interactions of the proteins encoded by genes in the entire network. Hongtao Yu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Pharmacology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Dr. Yu examines the mechanisms that ensure how a dividing cell equally distributes the same number of chromosomes between the two daughter cells. These studies might help explain the phenomenon observed in cancer cells, which usually have abnormal numbers of chromosomes. 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999