VCU School of Medicine faculty member and researcher honored with Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipids

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Charles E. Chalfant, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, a recipient of the Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research.

The award honors outstanding research contributions by young investigators with no more than 15 years of experience.

Chalfant, who is also a research career scientist at the McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center, was honored for his work on lipid signaling pathways regulating alternative pre-mRNA processing and eicosanoid biosynthesis.

Since arriving at VCU in 2003, Chalfant’s research has led to the identification of a new regulating mechanism for the production of major lipid mediators of inflammation in the body known as eicosanoids. According to Chalfant, the identification of this new mechanism has the potential to generate an entirely new class of anti-inflammatory compounds for the treatment of numerous diseases where eicosanoids play a distinct role, including, lung, breast and colon cancers, thrombosis, wound healing, atherosclerosis, sepsis and neurodegeneration.

Chalfant has pioneered the field of lipid signaling and the regulation of pre-mRNA processing. His research has linked the malfunction of pre-mRNA processing to the maintenance of lung cancer, generating a new mechanistic target for the development of improved therapeutics.

He will receive a plaque, a cash award and the opportunity to lecture at the 2011 ASBMB Annual Meeting.

In 2008, Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the VCU School of Medicine, received the Avanti Award in Lipids for her contributions to the field. Spiegel is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on new lipid mediators that regulate cell growth and cell death.