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University of Iowa News Release
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Nov. 4, 2009 Campbell, Welsh renewed as Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators Two researchers in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have been renewed for another five years as investigators of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Both researchers, Kevin Campbell, Ph.D., and Michael Welsh, M.D., have been HHMI investigators since 1989. Based in Maryland, the institute was founded in 1953 by aviator-industrialist Howard Hughes to promote the basic sciences and the effective application of findings to benefit humankind.
Campbell's work has led to the identification of the molecular and genetic basis of several forms of muscular dystrophy and provided a clearer understanding of muscular dystrophy disease processes. Campbell's findings have already greatly improved the diagnosis of muscular dystrophy and point to strategies for developing therapies for these devastating inherited neuromuscular diseases.
Welsh is internationally recognized for his research on cystic fibrosis. Work from his lab elucidated the cellular and molecular bases of the disease. The improved understanding of cystic fibrosis laid the foundation for several new therapeutic and preventive strategies for this inherited disease. "We greatly appreciate that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has renewed the appointments of Drs. Campbell and Welsh. Their leadership and expertise are critical to advancing the understanding and treatment, respectively, of muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis," said Paul Rothman, M.D., dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine. "HHMI appointments are well-deserved individual honors, and institutionally, these appointments help strengthen the interdisciplinary research for which the UI is known." In addition to Campbell and Welsh, the two other current HHMI investigators at the UI are Val Sheffield, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics who holds the Martin and Ruth Carver Chair in Genetics; and Edwin Stone, M.D., Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences who holds the Seamans-Hauser Chair of Molecular Ophthalmology. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization that ranks as one of the nation's largest philanthropies, plays a powerful role in advancing biomedical research and science education in the United States. HHMI provides salaries, laboratory space and equipment for investigators and their research teams. Learn more http://www.hhmi.org. STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Care Media Relations, 200 Hawkins Drive, E110-GH, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242 MEDIA CONTACT: Becky Soglin, 319-356-7127, becky-soglin@uiowa.edu
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Kevin Campbell, professor and head of molecular physiology and biophysics, holds the Roy J. Carver Biomedical Research Chair in Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Campbell, who joined the UI faculty in 1981, is internationally known for his neuromuscular disease research and directs the Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center at the UI. Campbell also is a professor of internal medicine and neurology.
Michael Welsh, professor of internal medicine, molecular physiology and biophysics, and neurosurgery, holds the Roy J. Carver Chair of Internal Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics. Welsh, who also joined the UI faculty in 1981, directs the UI Cystic Fibrosis Research Center and will serve as director of the new Pappajohn Institute.