From the TMS Board > Board News > 2004 Board News > TMS Awards Dr. Cem Akin $44,000 Research Grant

TMS Awards Dr. Cem Akin $44,000 Research Grant

May 1, 2004

- Gigi (Regis) Park, Former Research Committee Chair

On behalf of the members of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce that the Mastocytosis Society (TMS) has awarded a research grant in the amount of $44,000 to Dr. Cem Akin. Dr. Akin was recently appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, at the prestigious University of Michigan. This appointment follows a successful stint at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, where Dr. Akin established himself as a leading mast cell researcher and developed novel techniques for identifying mast cell disease and determining the most promising treatment options for patients.

Effective May 1, 2004, and extending for a period of one year, the grant will help Dr. Akin continue these critical studies and aid in the establishment of a mastocytosis patient care and research center in collaboration with faculty from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In addition, as stated by Claire A. Verweij, MA, MBA, Project Manager, Internal Medicine-Allergy Research and the Center for Biologic Nanotechnology, University of Michigan, "The Mastocytosis Society's generosity will likely also help him with obtaining additional grants as government institutions are typically more inclined to fund a physician scientist who has demonstrated some ability to obtain funding. The Mastocytosis Society's award will do just that."

A long time friend to TMS, Dr. Akin has been a featured speaker at annual meetings and has given generously of his time and experience to countless members of our organization in countless ways. Asked to comment on the TMS Grant, Dr. Akin had this to say:

I am honored to be selected as the recipient of this important grant. It is especially meaningful to me that the grant has been made possible by individual donations. Therefore, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to TMS for making this grant available particularly at such a critical time coinciding with our efforts to establish a new research and referral center at the University of Michigan to further our understanding of mast cell disease and evaluate novel treatment options. - Cem

I do not believe that there is a more deserving recipient of the 2004 TMS Research Grant than Dr. Cem Akin. On behalf of the membership of TMS, I wish him the greatest success in his new endeavours.

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