Dyer To Receive ARVO's Cogan Award

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 25 Aug 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) announced today that Michael A. Dyer, PhD, has been selected to receive the Association's 2008 Cogan Award during ARVO's Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL in April 2008.

The Cogan Award recognizes a researcher 40 years of age or younger (at the time of nomination) who has made important contributions to research in ophthalmology or visual science directly related to disorders of the human eye or visual system, and who also shows substantial promise for future research. Dyer was selected to receive the award for his significant and innovative contributions to the fields of developmental neurobiology, cell cycle regulation, and cancer genetics.

Dyer is with the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN and the Department of Ophthalmology in the Hamilton Eye Institute at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He received his doctoral degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Dyer is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including a National Research Service Award, National Eye Institute (1997-2000); Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award (2004-2008); and was selected as a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences (2004-2008). His most recent article in Nature was a breakthrough in identifying the second step in retinal tumor growth and developing novel targeted therapies for this debilitating childhood cancer.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit http://www.stjude.org

University of Tennessee Health Science Center

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the UT Health Science Center is focused on a four-tier mission of education, research, clinical care and public service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans.

Established in 1928, ARVO is a membership organization of more than 11,500 eye and vision researchers from over 70 countries. The Association encourages and assists its members and others in research, training, publication, and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology. ARVO's headquarters are located in Rockville, Md. For more information about ARVO, logon to the Association's Web site, http://www.arvo.org