Researcher snags top position

Yi Zhang, a biomedical researcher in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, has spent hours in the laboratory, decoding how specific proteins in the genetic code and errors in the code are linked to diseases like cancer.

Zhang now will have the opportunity to expand upon his research after his recent appointment as UNC’s first investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The distinction indicates that the “recipient is one of the world’s best researchers in a field,” Zhang said.

Zhang is one of 43 winners selected from a pool of nearly 300 nominees.

Having a UNC researcher named a medical institute investigator is an important step forward for the University’s reputation, said David Lee, chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

“It’s one of those milestones we have all looked forward to,” he said. “It’s an important sign that UNC is entering the very top echelon of research universities.”

The institute will give Zhang sole discretion of a substantial amount of money for research. The exact total is yet to be determined.

“Essentially, I don’t need to worry about writing grants,” he said.

The budget frees researchers to fund work without the pressure of searching for grant money or meeting grant criteria.

“They basically don’t tell you what to do — you can decide what to do,” Zhang said. “They basically trust your decisions.”

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a nonprofit medical research organization founded in 1953 by maverick aviator, industrialist and filmmaker Howard Hughes.

The institute’s annual research budget is $416 million. It doles out millions of dollars each year to universities and research organizations to help advancements in medical care.

“We fund people, not projects,” said Jennifer Donovan, a public relations coordinator with the institute. “The institute will not only pay for (Zhang’s) salary, they will also rent the lab from the University and fund any other expenses.”

Lee said Zhang’s work as an investigator would allow him to take a more adventurous route in his research and work with a small cadre of elite biomedical scientists.

Zhang, who also works as an associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the School of Medicine, said the institute’s reputation will add prestige to UNC and aid recruitment efforts.

The kind of advancements in Zhang’s research offer a new type of stem-cell therapy, he said.

Zhang has received a number of awards before his most recent appointment. He is the recipient of the 2004 Hettleman Award, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research’s Kimmel Scholar Award and the American Association for Cancer Research’s 2003 Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award.

“He is brilliant, hard working, and he’s ambitious and driven in the best sense of the words,” Lee said.

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.