Awards will fuel scientists' work

Three Triangle scientists have won prestigious awards to further their research.

Tannishtha Reya, an associate professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University, and Joseph DeSimone, a chemistry professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, both have received this year's National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer award. The award comes with a five-year, $2.5 million grant.

Also at Duke, Michel Bagnat, assistant professor of cell biology, won an NIH Director's New Innovator award. That includes a $1.5 million grant over five years. Bagnat won for his research on cystic fibrosis.

Reya, co-director of Duke's stem cell and regenerative medicine program, studies the chemical signals that control stem-cell growth, research that could lead to new cancer treatments. DeSimone will use the money to further nanotechnology research based on using tiny particles to deliver doses of medicine.