News & notes
Victor McKusick awarded the Japan Prize
Victor A. McKusick, M.D., cofounder of the internationally renowned Short Course on Medical and Experimental Mammalian Genetics held each year at The Jackson Laboratory, is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious Japan Prize in Medical Genetics and Genomics. Dr. McKusick is a trustee emeritus of the Laboratory and currently University Professor of Medical Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The Short Course has attracted a long list of top genetics researchers through the years and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in July 2009. “Dr. McKusick is most deserving of this award, which many in the scientific community compare in stature to the Nobel Prize,” said Jackson Laboratory Director Richard Woychik, Ph.D.
Robert Braun, Ph.D., selected as chair for research
The Jackson Laboratory selected a distinguished scientist in its field of reproductive genetics, Robert Braun, Ph.D., as its new associate director and chair for research. Dr. Braun joins the Laboratory from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Laboratory Director Richard Woychik, Ph.D., described Dr. Braun as “an internationally prominent scientist with the highest research credentials.” Dr. Braun earned his undergraduate degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, chemistry and mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his Ph.D. in the Tufts University School of Medicine department of microbiology. He started with the University of Washington in 1986, when he joined as a postdoctoral fellow. The recipient of many honors and awards, Dr. Braun previously worked at The Jackson Laboratory as a visiting scientist in 2001-2002.
