Yale scientist named Pew Scholar

The Pew Charitable Trusts has named Valerie Horsley as a 2010 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences.
The program "enables scientists to take calculated risks, expand their research and explore unanticipated leads," according to a statement.
"Scholars receive $240,000 over four years and gain inclusion into a select community of scientists that includes three Nobel Prize winners, three MacArthur Fellows and two recipients of the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award," the statment said.
The 25-year-old program has invested "more than $125 million to fund close to 500 scholars," the statement said. "Many of the nation’s best early-career scientists, working in all areas of physical and life sciences related to biomedical research, apply to the rigorously competitive program. Applicants are nominated by one of 155 invited institutions and demonstrate excellence and innovation in their research."
“Twenty-five years ago, The Pew Charitable Trusts identified a tremendous opportunity to impact the world of science by supporting the most promising young investigators and encouraging them to pursue their best ideas without restrictions,” said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts said in the statement. “Motivating scientists at this point in their careers is essential to advancing discovery and innovation, and Pew is honored to continue its commitment to this cadre of high-quality researchers.”
Horsley earned her doctorate from the Department of Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology of Emory University where she worked with Dr. Grace Pavlath, the statement said. She then trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Elaine Fuchs at The Rockefeller University. In 2009, she joined the Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology of Yale University as an assistant professor, the statement said.
Horsley studies how stem cells, cells that can regenerate themselves or become specific tissue types, are regulated and function within epithelia, the tissues that line internal organs and outer surfaces, such as skin, the statement said.
"She uses the mouse as a genetic model to study how adult stem cells within epithelial tissues undergo wound healing and potentially contribute to cancer formation. Using innovative imaging techniques, cell biology, and biochemistry she will study the dynamics of gene activity in mammalian skin. Her work will illuminate how these complex functions in epithelial tissues are relevant in skin and breast tumor formation," the statement said.