Medicine

Tsetskhladze named finalist for prestigious award

Zurab Tsetskhladze, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Keith Cheng at Penn State College of Medicine, was a finalist for the American Society of Human Genetics’ 2012 Charles J. Epstein Trainee Awards for Excellence in Human Genetics Research. Tsetskhladze’s abstract, "Functional Assessment of Human Coding Polymorphisms Affecting Skin Pigmentation Using Zebrafish," was one of nine chosen as finalists, which was then presented at the 62nd annual meeting of the society in Nov. 9.

Since in the running for the award, the abstract was accepted and published in PLOS ONE (http://live.psu.edu/story/62249). The paper reports a way to use the zebrafish to test the effects of individual gene differences in humans. The process was validated by testing individual gene mutations that contribute to skin color, as previously reported by the Cheng lab.

"I was very excited when I saw my work among the finalists for the highly competitive Charles J. Epstein Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research at the ASHG meeting," Tsetskhladze said.

Tsetskhladze received $1,000 as a finalist. A total of 60 awards were given to semifinalists and finalists.

The trainee award honors excellence in research conducted by predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees.

Last Updated December 6, 2012

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