The UCSF School of Medicine Dean's Prize for Research recognizes students "who have the creativity and curiosity that is an essential characteristic of the great physicians and great scientists of the future", said Interim Dean Sam Hawgood in his introduction on Student Research Day, January 9. "This program gives our students an opportunity to experience the excitement of research."

Four students were awarded the Dean's Prize for their innovative investigations:

> Stephanie Chang, MS II Investigation of Cancer Biomarkers using the Proximity Ligation Assay (PLA) for Multiplexed Protein Detection   "Stephanie's results suggest that stratification by markers in pancreatic cancer trials could help to improve clinical trial design and select patients most appropriate for a particular targeted therapy." – Albert Koong, MD, PhD   Stephanie Chang with sponsor Dr. Albert Koong               > Jason Cheng, MS IV Collagen VI Protects Neurons Against Amyloid-Beta Toxicity   "Virtually nothing was known about the function of collagen VI in the brain until Jason identified an important neuroprotective role of this extracellular matrix component in the context of Alzheimer's disease." – Lennart Mucke, MD   Dr. Mucke and Jason Cheng             > Rodney Gabriel, MS II Homeobox A5 Attenuates Cerebral Hemangioma Growth and Down-regulates Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1 Alpha   "Rodney's contribution to this research project is a valuable addition to the field of angiogenic therapy." – Guo-Yuan Yang, PhD   Gabriel and Dr. Yang, one of his two sponsors               > Rita Hamad, JMP III Evaluating Health Outcomes for Microcredit Clients   "Rita's research is the first to examine the effectiveness of microcredit and education services in improving the health and living circumstances of low-income families. It will transform our thinking about interventions in the developing world." – Lia Fernald, PhD   Dr. Fernald and Rita Hamad