Wake Forest Baptist December Awards and Recognitions

December 30, 2013

Wake Forest Baptist Faculty Receive Innovation Fund Pilot Awards

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dec. 30, 2013 – The Wake Forest School of Medicine awarded three faculty members with grants to support early stage research in novel and potentially high impact areas.

Martha Alexander-Miller, Ph.D., microbiology and immunology, for her work with vaccine adjuvants; Ashok Hedge, Ph.D., neurobiology and anatomy, for his research on Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes; and Fred Perrino, Ph.D., biochemistry, for his work in cancer research, each received Innovation Fund pilot awards that will facilitate in their ability to explore new directions and perform studies necessary for a competitive future grant application. The maximum award is $33,333 for a period of one year.

The Innovation Fund was established to support innovative research using generous donations provided by grateful patients.

Applications were reviewed by members of an internal research support committee and grants were awarded based upon the National Institutes of Health criteria of significance, innovation, approach and overall impact.

Wake Forest Baptist Professor Elected President of International Society

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dec. 30, 2013 – Steven Wong, Ph.D., professor of pathology and director of clinical chemistry and toxicology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, was elected to serve as president of The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in 2014.

The AACC is an international scientific/medical society of clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists and other individuals involved with clinical chemistry and related disciplines.

Active in the AACC since 1980, Wong served as a member of the board of directors, chair of three AACC divisions and the North Carolina local section, and was a member of the organizing committee for a proteomics conference.

During his presidency, Wong plans to focus on collaborating with other medical associations, as well as government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, to advance personalized medicine.

Media Relations

Shannon Putnam: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587

Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487