UFCST member wins prestigious Polak Young Investigator Award

Each year the Association for Chemoreception Science, the largest scientific society focused on advancing understanding of smell and taste, recognizes innovative research from junior investigators with the Polak Young Investigator Award. This year, UFCST member Dr. Corey Williams, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Martens, will receive this honor at the AChemS Annual Meeting being held April 22-25, 2015.

Polak award winners are recognized with a cash award and the opportunity to present their study in a plenary symposium at the Annual Meeting. Dr. Williams was recognized for his study entitled, “Direct evidence for BBSome-associated intraflagellar transport reveals distinct properties of native mammalian olfactory sensory cilia.” This study offers important insights into the mechanisms of olfactory loss in individuals afflicted with Bardet-Biedel syndrome.

Many of previous recipients of the Polak award have gone on to be leaders in the chemosensory field. Dr. Williams is the fourth UFCST member – along with Drs. Shawn Dotson, Jeffrey Martens and Jeremy McIntyre – to win this prestigious award. The UFCST offers its congratulations to Dr. Williams for this impressive achievement!