Med student garners Burroughs Award

Carmen Williams -- a doctoral student in biomedical science at Medical School -- became the first person at the University to receive a prestigious, $500,000 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Biomedical Sciences. She became one of only 19 scientists nationwide to receive a 6-year, $500,000 grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund -- an independent private foundation established in 1955 to advance the medical sciences through supporting research and other scientific and educational goals. Williams -- a research associate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology --Esaid she discovered the grant in an on-line advertisement. The application process involved a five-page proposal of one's plans for six years of postdoctoral research and the submission of letters of recommendation from a residency supervisor and other university representatives. Williams said she wanted to use the grant to continue her research on the fertilization process. She is studying the subject for her doctoral thesis. Her research will investigate the mechanisms by which sperm alert eggs to their presence so fertilization can occur. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund advisory board chose 32 finalists from the more than 200 scientists who submitted proposals. Williams flew to Dallas for an interview with members of the advisory board, which included many well-known scientists. During the interview, she made a five-minute presentation about her proposal and answered questions for 15 minutes. "It was intimidating, to say the least," she said. A magna cum laude graduate of Duke University with a bachelor's degree in engineering, Williams received her medical degree from Duke's School of Medicine in 1986. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1990, where she won the Resident Teaching Award. In 1992, Williams completed her fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University's Medical Center and began a doctoral program in Cell and Molecular Biology. She has co-authored several published studies and was certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1994.

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