Shaw awards support research on DNA, genetics at UW-Madison

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Shaw Scientist Award is providing two researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with $200,000 grants: one to explore how cells integrate the processes that sense DNA damage and repair it, and a second to investigate how mammalian cells respond to genetic damage, hoping to shed light on diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

James L. Keck, an assistant professor of biomolecular chemistry, is exploring how cells integrate a range of processes that sense DNA damage and trigger repairs to maintain cell health. By using the critically important RecQ enzyme family for his research, he also hopes to explore the molecular origins of RecQ-related human diseases that cause premature aging, cancer and other serious conditions.

Randal S. Tibbetts, an assistant professor of pharmacology, is attempting to understand how mammalian cells respond to genetic damage, with emphasis on the ATM/ATR family of tumor suppressor genes. His laboratory is also exploring the process of neurodegeneration in ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), an inherited genetic disease that results from mutations in ATM. By identifying defective pathways in A-T, his group hopes to learn more about other neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, which may share common roots with A-T.

Anthony A. Azenabor, assistant professor of health sciences at UW-Milwaukee, is the recipient of a third Shaw grant. Azenabor is studying macrophages — cells that protect the body from infection — in an attempt to create a clear biochemical link between the infectious bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis, the build-up of fat deposits on the inside of artery walls that causes coronary artery disease. A better understanding of this process could lead to preventive measures and therapies that would benefit the several millions of people worldwide who suffer from some form of the disease.

The three researchers were selected from among eight finalists nominated by the two universities for the annual award. Because the grants are unrestricted and can be used to pursue highly speculative research, they are highly sought after by young scientists. “Finding money for scientific research is always hard work, especially early in a career. The Shaw was conceived as a way to help the most promising young minds at this pivotal time,” says Douglas M. Jansson, executive director of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

The foundation created the Shaw Scientist Award in 1982 to carry out the terms of a bequest from Dorothy Shaw, widow of James D. Shaw, a prominent Milwaukee attorney. Through her will, Dorothy Shaw endowed a $4.2 million fund and directed that it be used to advance research in the fields of biochemistry, biological science and cancer research at UW–Madison and UW-Milwaukee. The Shaw Award has provided more than $8 million to 46 scientists.

A panel of five scientists from major research institutions throughout the U.S. selects the Shaw Award recipients. Owen W. Griffith, professor and chair of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Department of Biochemistry, chairs the committee.