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NYC science symposium marks Gruber Prize program 10th anniversary

10th anniversary event features science symposium and live announcement of 2009 Gruber Genetics and Neuroscience Prize recipients

New York, NY, June 26 – The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation International Prize Program will celebrate its tenth anniversary on July 1, 2009, with an event to be held at Rockefeller University in New York City. The 2009 Gruber Genetics Prize and Neuroscience Prize recipients will be announced live at the event, which will also include a symposium entitled "DNA, the Brain, and Society." The discussion will feature a panel of distinguished scientists whose pioneering work is at the forefront of modern genetics and neuroscience:

• Dr. David Botstein, 2003 Gruber Genetics Prize laureate and director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, who has helped lead the revolution in modern genetics with his innovative methods for mapping the human genome and the genes that cause disease, will speak on "The Fruits of the Genome Sequences for Society."

• Dr. Linda Buck, associate director of Basic Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, whose research has provided key insights into the mechanisms that underlie the sense of smell in mammals and earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, will speak on "Deconstructing Smell."

• Dr. Fred Gage, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute and recipient of the Max Planck Research Prize, whose work may eventually make possible the replacement or enhancement of brain and spinal cord tissue lost or damaged due to neurodegenerative disease or trauma, will speak on "Brain Plasticity and Diversity."

• Dr. Solomon Snyder, professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, whose discoveries about communication mechanisms within and between brain cells earned him the National Medal of Science, will speak on "Novel Neural Messengers Impacting Neural Diseases."

All prize categories will be represented by Gruber Prize laureates attending the event.

The Gruber Prize Program began in 2000 with the Cosmology Prize and was expanded thereafter with the Genetics and Justice Prizes added in 2001, the Women Rights Prize in 2003, and the Neuroscience Prize in 2004.

The Program honors contemporary individuals whose groundbreaking work in those five fields provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture. The Selection Advisory Boards choose individuals whose contributions in their respective fields advance our knowledge, potentially have a profound impact on our lives, and, in the case of the Justice and Women's Rights Prizes, demonstrate courage and commitment in the face of significant obstacles.

The event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Caspary Auditorium of Rockefeller University. For more information about attending the event, visit http://www.gruberprizes.org/GruberPrizes/TenthAnniversary.php.

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