The annual Dr. Adel A. Yunis Awards for Research Excellence recognize outstanding postdoctoral fellows, house staff or students at Washington University School of Medicine conducting basic research in molecular hematology. This year’s recipients are Cara Lunn Shirai, PhD, and Juhi Bagaitkar, PhD.
Shirai is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Matthew Walter, MD, in the Division of Oncology. She is characterizing the effects of splicing gene mutations found in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia on hematopoiesis.
Bagaitkar is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Mary C. Dinauer, MD, PhD, in the Department of Pediatrics. Bagaitkar has focused on understanding how defects in leukocyte NADPH oxidase lead to exaggerated inflammatory response to tissue injury, which may contribute to the pathology of several autoimmune diseases.