The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded The University of Texas at Arlington an $823,067 grant to recruit star cell biology researcher Mark Pellegrino from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Pellegrino will join the UTA College of Science as an assistant biology professor in August. He is an internationally recognized biologist whose discovery that mitochondria are an important activator of innate immunity was published in Nature in 2014.
"Mark Pellegrino is positioned to become a leader among cell biologists," said Morteza Khaledi, dean of the College of Science. "Studies of how cells respond to mitochondrial stress are of growing interest because of the implications for multiple conditions such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and bacterial infections."
Pellegrino said that he has many important new research projects planned at UTA.
"My long term goal is to use my knowledge of mitochondrial stress response to develop reagents with therapeutic potential," Pellegrino said. "I am especially excited to join UTA as the University gears up to become a leader in the area of biomedical sciences."
Pellegrino's appointment comes as UTA is expanding its focus on research that advances health and the human condition under the Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions |Global Impact. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on a $125 million Science and Engineering Innovation and Research building with 200,000 square feet of teaching and research space that will enable enhanced activity in the health sciences.
Click here to read more about UT Arlington's health research programs.
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