(Chicago, IL – January 31, 2012) The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) has named Aubrey Bonhivert, second year medical student at The Ohio State University, as the recipient of the 2011 Lucien Rubenstein Award. The ABTA’s distinguished Scientific Advisory Council deemed Bonhivert, one of 15 ABTA Medical Student Summer Fellows in 2011, to have done outstanding brain tumor research.
The Medical Student Summer Fellowship and Lucien Rubenstien Award are part of the ABTA’s commitment to supporting young investigators’ careers in the field of brain tumor research. Bonhivert’s research focused on the correlation between acid sphingomyelinase and the migration and invasion of glioma cells. Her work was under the direction of her mentor, Balveen Kaur, Ph.D., associate professor, department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University, and chief of Dardinger Laboratories for Neuro-Onoclogy and NeuroSciences.
“Young medical students are the next generation of physicians,” said Dr. Kaur. “Funding support through the ABTA allows them to be involved in a laboratory-based research project. Aubrey has a bright future ahead of her and I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work with a budding young physician scientist like her.”
Bonhivert was very excited to find out that she had been selected for the outstanding student award.
“The experience provided through the ABTA funding gave me a stronger foundation in the basic science of brain tumor research,” Bonhivert said. “It made me feel like I was contributing to the medical field, even as a student. I hope I can continue to contribute to research in neuro-oncology.”
Each year, the American Brain Tumor Association offers a select group of medical students the opportunity to spend ten to twelve weeks in a brain tumor research laboratory. Based on reports that each student is required to submit at the end of their summer internship, an outstanding student is selected to receive the Lucien Rubenstein Award. The award is named in honor of Dr. Lucien J. Rubenstein, a professor of neuropathology at the University of Virginia and a world-renowned brain tumor researcher. More information on the American Brain Tumor Association’s research awards program is available at www.abta.org/Research_Progress/36
ABOUT THE AMERICAN BRAIN TUMOR ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) was the first national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to funding brain tumor reserach. For nearly 40 years, the Chicago-based ABTA has provided critical funding to researchers working toward breakthroughs in brain tumor diagnosis, treatment and care, and is the only national organization providing comprehensive resources and serving the complex needs of brain tumor patients and caregivers.
For more information, visit www.abta.org.
