"The translation of Dr. Levy's expertise in aptamer technologies to the treatment of cancer builds upon his initial studies focused on prostate cancer," said I. David Goldman, M.D., director of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center and the Susan Resnick Fisher Professor in Brain Cancer Research. "This represents an exciting new avenue of research at Einstein directed to the development of therapies that specifically target cancer cells."

"This award to Dr. Levy is a highly appropriate honor for his novel research applying chemical biology approaches to cancer problems," said Vern Schramm, Ph.D., the Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry, who recruited Levy to join Einstein's faculty in 2007. "His research typifies the integration of new technologies across disciplines to have impact on fundamental chemistry principles as well as in human disease."

In receiving the SU2C grant, Dr. Levy joins 12 researchers from seven other institutions including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children's Hospital Boston, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute.

Dr. Levy received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1995 and his master's degree in chemistry in 1997, both from the University of California, San Diego. He was awarded his doctorate in molecular biology in 2003 from the University of Texas, where he also completed his postdoctoral training in 2007. Dr. Levy's research interests are in using biological, chemical and combinatorial approaches to understand fundamental biological interactions and designing novel diagnostics and therapeutics.

Source: Albert Einstein College of Medicine