When the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute named a new slate of investigators this summer, it recognized a scientist originally brought to Dallas through a grant from the W.W. Caruth, Jr. Foundation at Communities Foundation of Texas.
Dr. Youxing Jiang joined the faculty at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 2003 as a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research. The Caruth position is part of UT Southwestern’s Endowed Scholars Program in Medical Science, which began with a $5 million lead grant from the Caruth Foundation in 1997. The first major grant from the Caruth Foundation helped the medical school attract additional philanthropic funds, allowing it to begin the program in 1998 with a $60 million endowment to attract and retain the best and brightest medical investigators to Dallas.
The Endowed Scholars Program provides more than $1 million over four years to first-time, tenure-track assistant professors in the form of research funds, laboratory and office space, and salaries. In 10 years, the program has helped launch the research careers of 50 investigators.
Dr. Jiang, who earned his doctorate in chemistry from Yale University, is now an associate professor of physiology at UT Southwestern. His research focuses on determining the structure and function of ion channels, which are proteins found in cell membranes that allow various ions to pass into and out of cells. These channels are crucial for many physiological processes, including the generation of electrical impulses in cells. His research eventually could lead to more effective treatments for heart arrhythmia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, hypertension, and neurological and psychiatric diseases.
As one of 56 new Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, Dr. Jiang will remain at his home institution to pursue his research. One of the nation’s largest philanthropies, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute conducts basic biomedical research, working in collaboration with more than 60 universities, medical centers and other research institutions in the United States. HHMI appoints scientists as Hughes investigators rather than awarding research grants. In the past two decades, it has invested more than $8.3 billion for the support, training and education of the nation’s most creative and promising scientists.
Dr. Jiang’s research focuses on ion channel structures, which are proteins found in cell membranes. His research could lead to more effective treatments for diabetes, hypertension and other diseases.