James Shorter, a professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the School of Medicine, has been selected as one of the 29 scholars to receive the National Institutes of Health's New Innovator Award.
The award - for which more than 2,100 people applied - totals $1.5 million over five years, and is given to scholars in the early stages of their careers.
"This award is an honor, and a relief, in a way, to now be able to focus on my research in a significant way," Shorter said in a press release.
Shorter received his grant for research that will attempt to develop biochemical methods to combat diseases caused by nerve degeneration, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Hunington's disease.
"Novel ideas and new investigators are essential ingredients for scientific progress, and the creative scientists we recognize . are well-positioned to make significant - and potentially transformative - discoveries in a variety of areas," NIH director Elias Zerhouni said in the press release.
Shorter came to Penn from Whitehead Institute in Boston this past April.
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