Print-friendly     E-mail Article

Contacts: Diane Greenberg, (631) 344-2347 or Mona S. Rowe, (631) 344-5056

Brookhaven Lab Scientist Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

July 26, 2006

(L to R) Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, Wynne K. Schiffer and DOE Office of Science Director Raymond Orbach.

UPTON, NY - Wynne K. Schiffer, an assistant scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, was among 56 researchers honored in Washington, DC, today as recipients of the 2005 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Nine federal departments and agencies support the 56 honorees, and DOE's Office of Science and National Nuclear Security Administration fund seven of the award recipients. The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers. Each award winner received a citation, a plaque and a commitment for continued funding of their work from their agency for five years.

"All of us here at the Energy Department are very pleased that these individuals are being recognized by the President for the intellectual rigor, relevance and high technical standards of their work," Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. "We are proud to honor these seven awardees as a means of encouraging promising young scientists and engineers to pursue work in areas of importance to the Department of Energy's energy research and national security missions."

Wynne K. Schiffer was recognized for her pioneering work in integrating neurobiology, chemistry, physics, and instrumentation in human health, and for providing educational outreach on brain imaging and drug abuse to educators and the public.

"Receiving this award would not have been possible without the help of all my colleagues at Brookhaven, including chemists, biologists, physicists - everyone involved with the imaging group," Schiffer said.

With an interdisciplinary team, Schiffer aids in the development and application of novel imaging technologies that can be used to provide insights into complex biological systems. Her work has led to several important discoveries.

For example, Schiffer pioneered an effort to label nanoparticles - particles measuring one-billionth of a meter or less - with positron-emitting radioactive isotopes, which are used as probes in imaging technologies like positron emission tomography (PET), a medical imaging method developed by DOE-funded researchers almost three decades ago. In Schiffer's research, the isotope attached to nanoparticles emits energy that is recorded by detectors in the PET camera, which signals the location and concentration of particles to a computer. The computer can then translate the data into an image of labeled nanoparticles in real time and space in a living organism.

Schiffer found that particles under four nanometers can penetrate the brain, while larger particles go to other parts of the body, just by virtue of their size. She found that adding a surfactant coating also enables the particles to travel to the brain. With this data, Schiffer and colleagues have generated a new family of imaging probes for use with PET.

In another project, Schiffer used a new PET machine designed for animals to show that a common model of drug-seeking, known as conditioned place preference, produces an identical pattern of brain activation in animals as that observed in human addicts expecting a psychostimulant. Using PET, Schiffer looked at brain activity in animals as they were exposed to environmental cues previously linked to methamphetamine. Schiffer showed that the brain areas that were activated by the methamphetamine-associated cues were identical to the brain areas activated when drug-dependent humans were expecting a psychostimulant treatment. These studies were the first to use new technologies developed by DOE labs to show that animal models not only mimic human drug-taking behavior, but they also activate the same brain regions associated with human addiction. These results contribute to a large body of work at Brookhaven aimed at finding a treatment for drug abuse and addiction.

Schiffer also volunteers her time to address community groups about the important role of nuclear medicine in diagnosing and treating diseases such as mental illness and drug abuse. Schiffer has given talks on brain imaging and drug abuse to audiences at Long Island schools, universities, rehabilitation groups, police departments, hospitals, government agencies, and community organizations.

Born and raised in Kaycee, Wyoming, Schiffer earned a B.A. in psychology from Colorado College in 1996, and her M.S. and Ph.D., both in Neurobiology and Behavior, from Stony Brook University in 2002 and 2004, respectively. She conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health and Brookhaven Lab before joining the staff at Brookhaven in 2005. Presently, she is an assistant scientist in Brookhaven's Center for Translational Neuroimaging.

Number: 06-87  |  BNL Media & Communications Office

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

Privacy and Security Notice  | Contact Web Services for help