News

UW researcher wins award

A University of Wisconsin researcher was one of 58 scientists to receive an inaugural award from the National Institutes of Health recently.

Matthew Allen, a biochemistry postdoctoral researcher at UW, won the Pathway to Independence award for outstanding post-doctorial associates who intend to pursue a career in academia, according to UW biochemistry professor Laura Kiessling.

"NIH decided that they needed to provide opportunities for young people to be able to successfully compete for grants," Kiessling said.

Allen said he will continue his research at UW, and when his research is completed, the award will grant him three years of funding for proposed research wherever Allen decides to work.

Kiessling, who serves as Allen's research advisor, said Allen is looking into improving the sensitivity of MRI scans.

"Matt is trying to make contrast agents for MRI — which increase the sensitivity of MRI — useful in diagnosing diseases or other conditions that are hard to detect," Kiessling said. "We are investigating the use of his contrast agents to visualize tumors, with a goal of detecting small tumors or even tumors that are metastasizing."

Allen said the results from his research could eventually be life saving.

"It could allow for diseases to be diagnosed at an earlier state, when treatments are more effective," Allen said.

The award will benefit the reputation of UW by helping recruit post-doctorate candidates to campus, Kiessling said, as well as demonstrate that UW is a great place to prepare for a career in academics.

"It will help us attract additional other outstanding young people, and it also brings resources to the campus," Kiessling said.

UW biochemistry and chemistry professor Ron Raines — also an advisor to Allen — said a provisional patent application has been filed with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation for the "highly sensitive new imaging agency" Allen created.

Raines added that Allen's discovery is currently being tested at the UW Hospital.

"The agent is undergoing preclinical testing and we're looking forward to see how well it works," Raines said.

Allen also received the 2007 Paul D. Boyer award, given to the most outstanding biochemistry post-doctorate.

The NIH received more than 900 applications for the Pathway to Independence award and plans to issue between 150 and 200 awards by the end of the year, therefore providing nearly $400 million in research support, according to the NIH website.

Raines said Allen received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and has been researching at UW for almost three years.

The Pathway to Independence award will greatly help Allen in his career as a scientist and a professor, Reins added.

"He'll be able to get a real running start to his scientific career," Raines said.