NYSCF Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Kevin Eggan Honored

Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers NYSCF congratulates Dr. Kevin C. Eggan, NYSCF's Chief Scientific Officer, for receiving the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.  The award was presented to Dr. Eggan by President Bush in a ceremony at the White House on December 19. The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the US government on scientists who are beginning their careers.  Dr. Eggan, Assistant Professor, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University, was one of 12 recipients. 

The PECASE was commissioned by President Clinton in 1996, and since then has annually recognized and supported the work of scientists who have demonstrated excellence and the potential for leadership in their scientific field. Dr. Eggan is being given the PECASE for his work with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease). Earlier this year, Eggan was the first person to successfully create a disease-specific stem cell line. This breakthrough achievement marks the first time scientists have replicated in a laboratory the specific human cells affected by disease.  His experiments were funded by The New York Stem Cell Foundation and carried out by a team of scientists working at Harvard and Columbia Universities.