(MIDDLETOWN, CT) – Wesleyan University's Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Department recently earned an award totaling more than $500,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on pathways leading to carcinogenesis, including the development of colon, rectal, stomach, and ovarian cancers.

The five-year grant will specifically fund the research of Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Manju Hingorani.

Hingorani's laboratory focuses on the workings of proteins responsible for DNA mismatch repair with the long-term goal of understanding how defects in repair are linked to many forms of cancers.

"I am tremendously grateful to the National Science Foundation for its strong commitment to basic science research and education, especially in this time of constrained budgets," says Hingorani.

Hingorani and Wesleyan University earned the award thanks to the NSF's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program. This program recognizes the critical roles faculty members play in integrating research and education, and in fostering the natural connections between the processes of learning and discovery.

To date, eight Wesleyan University faculty members have received this award, currently including Hingorani, Assistant Professor of Astronomy Kathryn Johnston, Professor of Physics Reinhold Blumel and Associate Professors of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Scott Holmes and Michael McAlear.

Hingorani plans to use the funds to support graduate and undergraduate research projects in her laboratory, and to develop innovative courses on science writing and on science documentary filmmaking in collaboration with faculty from Wesleyan's Film Studies department.

Established in 1831, Wesleyan University is a coeducational, private university of the liberal arts and sciences. It serves approximately 2,700 undergraduates and 150 graduate students and offers a challenging academic environment promoting independent thought and action.

For more information, please contact Laura Perillo at 860-685-3813 or lperillo@wesleyan.edu.