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Dr. Spiegel Honored with ASBMB Avanti Award in Lipids in April 2009.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology awarded Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, the 2009 Avanti Award in Lipids.
This award honors outstanding scientists whose research interests are in the field of lipids. Spiegel is one of the founders of the paradigm that sphingolipid metabolites serve as signaling molecules, and the sphingolipid signal that she discovered, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), is now the most thoroughly characterized mediator in this field.
"Sarah Spiegel is among the world's pioneers in the field of cellular signaling," said Sheldon M. Retchin, M.D., CEO of the VCU Health System and vice president for VCU Health Sciences. "Her work has led to an explosion of interest in what makes abnormal cells grow, such as cancer cells, and what leads to cellular death.”
“We are so proud of this recognition of her work. The Avanti Award is a well-deserved honor for one of the most outstanding faculty scientists at the university," Retchin said.
The award was presented at the Experimental Biology 2009 Meeting April 18-22 in New Orleans. Dr. Spiegel's lecture can be foun here.
