PRC honors Augustine, Volk as distinguished researchers
By Remekca Owens
The President’s Research Council at UT Southwestern Medical Center recently honored Dr. Mathew Augustine, Assistant Professor of Surgery, and Dr. Lenora Volk, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and of Psychiatry, with 2016 Distinguished Researcher Awards.
The faculty members, whose research has focused on gastrointestinal cancer and the mechanics of sleep, respectively, were recognized at a special ceremony in May. The Council hosts the event annually, and honors the work of UT Southwestern researchers who are emerging leaders in their areas of research. Recipients are also awarded $65,000 in support of their investigations.
“For more than 30 years, the generosity of President’s Research Council members has been a critical source of support for the junior faculty who have received PRC Distinguished Researcher Awards,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. “The funds raised by the PRC not only speak to the generous support the Medical Center receives from the Dallas community, but also to the confidence they have in the potentially groundbreaking research under way at UT Southwestern. We are grateful for this support, and this year’s recipients hold great promise for advancing our understanding of diseases and conditions through research.”
Dr. Augustine’s investigations focus on the development, spread, and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. This includes understanding how and why certain cancer cells are treatment-resistant, with the goal of developing novel strategies to overcome that resistance. He hopes his findings will help to improve the therapeutic decision-making process by identifying and selecting patients with gastrointestinal malignancies who will be best fit for specific therapeutic regimens, eliminating unnecessary and costly toxicities for patients who may not respond. As a member of UT Southwestern’s GI Cancer Surgical Team, Dr. Augustine also offers patients a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to cancer care.
“I am humbled and extremely grateful for the support that the leadership here has offered me to pursue research opportunities through which surgeons and oncologists enhance the lives of cancer patients in a more personalized fashion,” said Dr. Augustine. “Understanding the genetic and biologic conditions upon which patients develop resistance to chemotherapy and targeted biologic agents has been a hope of mine through residency and fellowship training. I am now getting the chance as a junior faculty member to realize those dreams at UT Southwestern in a deeply supportive and collaborative environment.”
Dr. Volk’s laboratory strives to understand the essential biological functions of sleep and is developing a novel system to specifically tag neurons involved in awake experience that are reactivated during sleep. Dr. Volk, who trained as a graduate student at UT Southwestern before completing her postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University, said she is excited about returning to such a vibrant, innovative, and supportive research community.
“I am honored to receive the President’s Research Council award, and would like to sincerely thank the Council for its support of research and new investigators at UT Southwestern,” said Dr. Volk. “My lab studies the mechanisms underlying learning and memory persistence, focusing on how sleep facilitates memory consolidation. Decades of studies support the idea that sleep is essential for efficient memory consolidation and maintenance of normal cognitive function, but the mechanisms by which sleep affects the brain to enable these processes remain an open question.
“This award will be tremendously beneficial in helping me establish a technically challenging research project, and is precisely the kind of support necessary for new scientists like myself to succeed. I am also grateful for the support of my Chair, Dr. Joseph Takahashi, who has fostered an exceptionally creative and collaborative Department.”
The PRC is made up of community leaders interested in learning about and advancing medical research at UT Southwestern. Its membership fees support research by new faculty investigators. The 2016 dinner was hosted by founders of the PRC, Cece Smith and Ford Lacy. Membership includes invitation to attend four lectures a year given by leading UT Southwestern researchers, as well as an annual banquet honoring awardees.
For membership information, contact the UT Southwestern Office of Development at 214-648-2344.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Takahashi holds the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience.
