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May 2, 2006
New Brunswick, NJ--Dawn Brasaemle, Anthony Broccoli and Nilgun Tumer have been chosen as the winners of the 2006 Cook College/NJAES Research Awards, which were presented at our 13th Annual Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 27 at the Cook Campus Center. Jerome J. Kukor, acting dean of research and graduate programs, presented the awards.Brasaemle, professor and director of the graduate program in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, and Broccoli, professor of environmental sciences and director of the Center for Environmental Prediction, were awarded Research Excellence Awards. Research Excellence Awards are presented to Cook College/NJAES faculty members whose recent scholarship has had significant impact on their profession. The awardees must have published a paper or series of papers describing a significant contribution to any relevant discipline.
In the nearly seven years that she has been a Cook College faulty member, Brasaemle has developed a ground-breaking research program centered on the molecular mechanisms of lipid storage in fat cells. Brasaemle entered this field very early in its inception and has since become one of its leaders.
Over the past three years, Brasaemle has published several seminal papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that have begun to unravel the molecular mechanisms by which perilipins work to regulate fat, and in extension, whole body energy metabolism. Her research has contributed to the restructuring of the paradigm of the control of energy metabolism in fat tissue; the implications of this research reach into the biology of nearly every cell of the body that stores fat.
Broccoli, an international leader in climate modeling, studies the earth's climate using numerical models of the atmosphere and ocean. He was one of the first to simulate the climate of the last ice age. Papers describing these simulations have received hundreds of citations.
Broccoli's reputation as a leader in modeling ice age climates led to his involvement in the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project. His research has also been recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has been established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program.
At Rutgers, Broccoli is leading an effort to develop new capabilities using the Weather Research and Forecasting model, a state-of-the-art atmospheric model. This project would develop a regional model that could be used to study climate change in coastal areas, including New Jersey.
Nilgun Tumer, a professor at the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, will be awarded a Sustained Research Excellence Award. Sustained Research Excellence Awards are presented to a Cook College/NJAES faculty member whose research has demonstrated sustained excellence; has achieved national or international recognition; has published in highly visible and prestigious outlets; and has had a major long-term impact on the scientific community, as evidenced by grants or awards.
Tumer has a varied research program, working mainly in the area of antiviral activity and cytotoxicity of ribosome inactivating proteins. She is investigating not only the mechanism of action of pokeweed antiviral protein in plants but also the mechanism of action of Shiga toxin in animals. She is principal investigator of a biodefense grant to examine ricin, a well known and potent toxin.
Tumer's research has led to the development of new therapies against viral infection, development of new therapies against cancer in humans and development of pathogen resistant plants for agriculture. Her work has resulted in 17 peer-reviewed publications since 2000 with support by more than $2.4 in external funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Contact: Michele Hujber
Office of Communications
732-932-7000
