Faculty researchers honored by Augusta University Research Institute

The Augusta University Research Institute recently recognized faculty researchers Mark W. Hamrick, PhD, Gang Zhou, PhD, Gábor Csányi, PhD, and Jessica Faulkner, PhD, for their work in advancing research at AU, helping the institution toward a top 60 ranking in the country in National Institutes of Health funding.

“I am consistently impressed by the caliber of physicians and physician/scientists we work with at the Medical College of Georgia,” said MCG Dean David C. Hess, MD. “Their work to find the causes, new treatments and potential cures for some of our nation’s top killers is truly changing people’s lives. I am glad to see that work honored by our university’s Research Institute.”

Hamrick, senior associate dean for research for AU’s MCG and interim chair of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, is the recipient of the AURI’s Lifetime Achievement Award. An expert in musculoskeletal biology and aging, Hamrick’s funding has included a $1.2 million grant from the Department of the Army looking at using exosome therapy to stabilize injuries to the extremities. He also has been principal investigator for a research project that is part of an $11.2 million NIH Program Project grant.

Zhou, an immunologist at the Georgia Cancer Center and Department of Medicine, received the award for Outstanding Research, Creative and Scholarly Activity. His work is focused on improving the impact of immunotherapy in cancer.

Csanyi, an associate professor in the Vascular Biology Center and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, whose lab explores multiple aspects of cardiovascular cell biology and how they relate to vascular dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, received the Distinguished Researcher Award.

Faulkner, assistant professor in the Departments of Physiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, is working to understand the sex differences in hypertension and cardiovascular disease and received the Emerging Scientist Award.