March of Dimes Grant Awarded to Department of Pathology Professor

Brian David Dynlacht, Professor of Pathology and Director of the Genomics Program of the NYU Cancer Institute, was recently awarded a 2008 Research Award from the March of Dimes, a private charitable research organization. Dynlacht's research proposal was selected for his promising work which recently identified two proteins, Cep97 and CP110, as part of a molecular switch controlling the transition between the centrosomal and basal body functions of centrioles. Since most primary cilia in tissues act as sensory organelles whose dysfunction can cause disease, the study of the centrosome should provide important insights toward understanding cilia-associated defects. March of Dimes Research Awards typically provide three years of grant support.