Neurogeneticist to Serve on Prestigious NIH Committee

Jan. 3, 2007 -- Heidi Scrable, associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Virginia, was recently invited to serve as a member of the Center for Scientific Review’s Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development Study Section.

The Center for Scientific Review organizes study groups to conduct peer evaluations of National Institutes of Health grant applications. Members are chosen on the basis of their demonstrated accomplishments and expertise in a given field. Scrable will serve on this small, advisory group of experts from across the country until 2010. 

Scrable is known for her use of animal models to study cancer and aging. She is currently exploring the role of p53 — a gene commonly mutated in rapidly growing tumors — in the regenerative potential of stem cells during aging.