Past Recipients Archive
The 2006 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Medicine
Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D.
Gerard Karsenty is a Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Dr. Karsenty received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Paris in 1984. He then was a post-doctoral
fellow in the laboratory of Dr. B de Crombrugghe at M.D. Anderson for four years before joining the faculty
of this institution in 1990. At M.D. Anderson, Dr. Karenty began to study skeleton biology and he identified
the master gene of bone formation. In 1998 he moved to Baylor College of Medicine where he demonstrated
the existence of neural control of bone mass and identified key molecular components of this novel pathway.
His findings have opened up new therapeutic horizons for the treatment of osteoporsis. Dr. Karsenty has
received numerous accolades for his work including the International Bone and Calcium Research Award (1997),
the Research Award of the Austrian Bone and Mineral Research Society (1998), the D. Harold Copp Award from
the International Bone and Mineral Society (2001), and the Louis V. Avioli Founder of the American Society
of Bone and Mineral Research (2001).
The 2006 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Engineering
Lynn Loo, Ph.D.
Lynn Loo is an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering and a General Dynamics Endowed Faculty Fellow
in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Loo received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering
from Princeton University in 2001. She then spent a year at Bell Laboratories as a Post-Doctoral Member
of Technical Staff before joining the University of Texas. At the University of Texas, Dr. Loo's research
lies at the intersection of polymer chemistry and physics, materials science, and solid state electronics.
Currently, her work focuses on structural development in organic electrically-active materials and how
these structures impact macroscopic electrical properties. She has received many awards for her research,
including the Camille and Henry Drefys New Faculty Award (2002), the DuPont Young Professor Grant (2003),
the NSF-CAREER Award (2004) and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award (2005). In 2004,
Dr. Loo was selected as one of the Top 100 Young Innovators Under 35 by MIT's Technology Review. for
inventing nanotransfer printing - a contact printing technique for establishing efficient electrical
contacts to mechanically fragile organic materials.
The 2006 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science
Michael Rosen, Ph.D.
Michael Rosen is a Professor in the Biochemistry and Pharmacology Department at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received
undergraduate degrees from the University of Michigan in Chemistry and in Chemical Engineering in 1987.
In 1993, he received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University. Dr. Rosen's research focuses on
understanding the structural, biochemical and cell biology mechanisms by which extracellular signals
control the actin cytoskeleton, which is the structure that helps cells move, change shape and react to
environmental cues. His research has led to greater insight into how protein cells function. Dr. Rosen's
work has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists
and Engineers (1997), Young Investigator Awards from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation (1997) and
the Sidney Kimmel Foundation (1998) and the Boyer Award from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (2001).