MBC Student Garners First Place

Baltimore, MD- Precious J. Lim, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) working in Dr. Mervyn Monteiro's laboratory in the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Medical Biotechnology Center (MBC), placed first in poster presentations in the Molecular Biology and Neuroscience Division at the 28th Graduate Research Conference held on April 28, 2006 at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Ms. Lim’s poster with co-workers Dr. Hongmin Wang, Chaobo Yin, Matthias Rieckner, Dr. Bruce Vogel and Dr. Monteiro, entitled “Suppression of Polyglutamine-induced Toxicity by Ubiquilin in Coenorhabditis elegans” is part of the laboratory’s efforts to understand the role ubiquilin plays in moderating Huntington’s disease. Ubiquilin was discovered by Dr. Monteiro’s laboratory and may yield new therapeutic strategies against Huntington’s disease.

Ms. Lim, a native of the Philippines, says both she and her parents are happy and honored to win this award, which comes with a gift certificate. The Graduate Research Conference is a joint effort by the Graduate Student Associations of UMB and UMBC. Students mentored by MBC faculty are encouraged to submit their work and attend as part of their training.

Dr. Monteiro notes, “Precious is one of those rare students who combines both intellectual curiosity and hard work with an easy going personality that makes her an asset both scientifically and socially for the lab. She is a real pleasure to work with.”

“Dr. Monteiro is a great mentor. His lab is both friendly and productive, which I appreciate very much.” says Ms. Lim, who plans to continue doing research on human diseases after she graduates.

The Medical Biotechnology Center’s faculty members are currently mentoring seven graduate students from various programs at UMB.

   
Ms. Precious Lim in front of her award-winning poster, now on display at UMBI’s Medical Research Facility.

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Celebrating our 20th anniversary year, UMBI is Maryland's premier biotechnology research institute within the University System of Maryland and was established in 1985. The University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) consists of five major research and education centers and is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of biotechnology. UMBI’s centers of research include: CARB, the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology located in Rockville; CBR, the Center for Biosystems Research located in College Park; and COMB, the Center of Marine Biotechnology, MBC, the Medical Biotechnology Center, and IHV, the Institute of Human Virology, all located in Baltimore. For more information, visit www.umbi.umd.edu