Seattle. - Three scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI, now PNDRI) have been honored with research awards by the Western American Federation of Medical Research (WAFMR). Kristine Hope and Hiroki Takahashi are recipients of 2004 Aventis Metabolism Scholar Awards, and Huarong Zhou is the recipient of a WSCI Travel Award. All have been recognized for the significance of their recent research into the mechanisms of insulin.

The three young scientists work in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Robertson, CEO and Scientific Director of PNRI. Takahashi, a postdoctoral fellow from Gunma University School of Medicine in Japan, is working on the ways glyceraldehyde increases intraislet reactive oxygen species and inhibits glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Zhou, a postdoctoral fellow from Tongji Medical University, in Wuhan, China, is studying how the islet beta cell regulates the alpha cell during hypoglycemia. Hope, an undergraduate student at Seattle University, is studying the same general question that Zhou is but is using isolated islets in the laboratory for her studies.

"These are wonderful awards," Robertson says. "They not only recognize the superb scientific work that these young scientists are doing. They also carry the message that PNRI is serious about and successful in grooming new scientists for the future."

The trio will be honored in conjunction with the WAFMR meetings in Carmel in January. The Metabolism Scholar Awards are sponsored by Aventis to support the growth of metabolic research. All three awards are designed to recognize outstanding scholarly work and to encourage the development of fruitful collaboration between emerging scientists and established mentors.