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Bethesda, M.D. – The American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) is pleased to announce that Ashley G. Rivenbark, PhD, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at University of North Carolina School of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2010 ASIP Excellence in Science Award. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievement at the earliest stages of a career in biomedical research. Accomplishments include, but are not limited to, publications and presentations as well as volunteered service to the ASIP or other professional societies, institutional committees, and the pathology community. This award is funded through the generous support of the A.D. Sobel-ASIP Education Fund. Dr. Rivenbark will present her award lecture on “Cancer Epigenetics: Lessons from Yeast and Humans” on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the ASIP Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA and will receive the Excellence in Science Award on Monday, April 26, 2010.

Dr. Rivenbark is examining the role of histone H3 lysine 36 methylation and demethylation in transcriptional regulation using budding yeast as a model system. Since histone H3 lysine 36 is associated with cancer development, Dr. Rivenbark is going to apply what she has learned in yeast to human cells in order to gain a better understanding of cancer pathogenesis. Dr. Rivenbark’s research also includes examining histone methylation patterns in breast tumors, elucidating the modification profile of these tumors in order to help determine if histone modifications are clinically relevant for patient assessment of breast cancer.

In 2008, she received funding from the UNC Breast SPORE for a developmental project titled “Biochemistry and Biophysics: Linking Histone Methylation and Acetylation to Human Breast Cancer.” The project was submitted through the UNC Lineberger Clinical Translational Science Awards program.

Currently under the direction of Dr. Brian D. Strahl, Dr. Rivenbark is a Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She has a Ph.D. in Toxicology from University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

The American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) is a non-profit educational 501(c)3 society of biomedical scientists who investigate the mechanisms of disease. Investigative pathology is an integrative discipline that links the presentation of disease in the whole organism to its fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms using a variety of structural, functional, and genetic techniques, and ultimately applies research findings to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. ASIP advocates for the practice of investigative pathology and fosters the professional career development and education of its members. ASIP is a member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), a coalition of 22 independent societies that plays an active role in lobbying for the interests of 84,000 biomedical scientists. The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) is a division of ASIP. For more information visit the ASIP website at www.asip.org.

ASIP Contact:
Tara A. Snethen , Senior Director of Society Services, American Society for Investigative Pathology, (301) 634-7950