Better Health, Brighter Future
Takeda Sponsors 2007-2008 ARCS Scholarship Recipients
DEERFIELD, Ill, October 24, 2007 – Six students in the Chicago area who are conducting research in natural sciences, engineering and medicine received $10,000 scholarships from Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., through the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation. Committed to science education and progress in medicine, Takeda has given grants through the ARCS Foundation for the past four years. ARCS is a national organization dedicated to raising scholarship money for students majoring in natural sciences, engineering and medicine at leading U.S. colleges and universities.
Takeda selected this year’s scholars from a talented pool of students recommended by deans and department chairs at their respective universities. Having met a high standard of excellence with the grades they achieved and the essays they submitted, the six 2007-2008 Takeda Scholars include three returning students and three new scholarship recipients.
“Takeda is proud to support higher education and the development of talented individuals who are advancing the field of science,” said Mark Weinberg, M.D., MBA, senior medical director, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. and board member of the ARCS Foundation. “The six students selected to receive Takeda’s scholarships exemplify the future of science and the exciting progress that is being made every day in this field.”
The three 2007-2008 returning scholars are:
• Jody L. Major, a student at Northwestern University, who researches the design, synthesis and testing of bioactivated magnetic resonance contrast agents for the imaging of gene expression and signal transduction in whole animals.
• Gerri Hutson, a fourth-year graduate student at the University of Chicago in organic chemistry, who hopes to aid drug development as an organic chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Northern Illinois University and spent two summers as a Merck Fellow.
• Rebecca Marvin, a student at Northwestern University, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in chemistry, is studying the biochemical function of inorganic metals within insulin releasing pancreatic islets. She hopes to continue her biochemical research in a pharmaceutical company or other institution that improves healthcare and develops life-saving products.
The three 2007-2008 new scholars are:
• Robert J. Dawe, a second-year graduate student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, is performing research intended to develop MRI testing that will identify Alzheimer’s disease at a much earlier phase than is presently possible. His studies also extend to postmortem MRI of human brain specimens, a topic addressed in his presentation before the June 2007 Human Brain Mapping Conference in Chicago.
• Kristen M. Triandafilou is in her third year of doctoral study at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Her study is devoted to a specialization in neural engineering and is already credited with co-authorship in a recent publication of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Last year she participated in an abstract and poster presentation before the National Biomedical Engineering Society.
• Erica R. Aronson, a third-year medical student at University of Illinois, is rotating through the various hospital departments, continuing to pursue her research, and contributing to the community through student and direct care groups concentrating on mental health needs. Erica’s research on the impact of gender in the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease resulted in an invitation to present on “Gender Influences Time to Diagnosis in Crohn’s Disease Limited to the Small Bowel” at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
About ARCS Foundation
The ARCS Foundation was founded by a small group of volunteers in 1958 after the Soviet launch of Sputnik. Since then, it has provided $53 million in scholarships to outstanding student scientists at more than 40 universities. There are currently 14 ARCS chapters nationwide with more than 1,400 member-volunteers. The Chicago Chapter, formed in 1977, has awarded more than $3.8 million to 484 area students. For more information, visit www.arcsfoundation.org/Chicago .
Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc.
Based in Deerfield, Ill., Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. In the United States, Takeda currently markets products for diabetes, insomnia, wakefulness and gastroenterology. Through the Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. the company has a robust pipeline with compounds in development for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other conditions. Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. To learn more about the company and its products, visit www.tpna.com .
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