2007 Rosenblatt Prize Awarded to Professor Mary C. Beckerle, Executive Director, Huntsman Cancer Institute

Mary C. Beckerle, professor of biology and executive director of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, received the 2007 Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, the U's most prestigious award. A noted cell biologist, Beckerle serves as Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI)'s executive director. Her research is focused on how cells move and stick together, both important to understanding how cancer spreads throughout the body. Her laboratory has discovered and characterized pathways that control how cells sense and respond to environmental cues, including both chemical and mechanical signals. Genetic studies carried out in Beckerle's lab have demonstrated key roles for these novel pathways in embryonic development and normal physiology.