CONWAY, Ark. (June 9, 2017) — Hendrix College alumnus Chad Binns ‘13, a third-year medical student in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been awarded an extension of a prestigious research fellowship through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
The HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program is designed to help develop the nation’s next generation of physician-scientists. Binns is taking a leave of absence from his studies at UAMS to conduct the mentored research that he proposed when applying for the fellowship. He will return to UAMS in August 2018 to complete
his medical training.
Binns, a native of Star City who plans to train in pathology after medical school, is working at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, with HHMI researchers Luke Lavis, Ph.D., and Zhe Liu, Ph.D., to develop and improve an expanding palette of bright fluorescent probes that enable the imaging of
individual molecules in living cells.
“Protected research time is a rather scarce commodity for individuals with clinical duties, but is necessary to develop a research-oriented skillset efficiently, so I greatly value this opportunity,” Binns said in a June 7 news release from UAMS. “My work here at Janelia will contribute to the development of tools that
will expand our capabilities to probe biological systems in new ways, allowing us to understand physiology and disease at the molecular level.”
“My eventual career goals include conducting basic and translational research, developing diagnostic and prognostic tools to advance patient care,” he added.
About the Howard Hughes Medical Research
Fellowship
The HHMI Medical Research Fellowship program is a $3 million annual, privately funded nonprofit initiative that allows students to conduct in-depth basic, translational or applied biomedical research at academic or nonprofit research institutions throughout the United States. Students apply to work with mentors
of their choice and submit a research proposal. To learn more, visit
www.hhmi.org.
About UAMS
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute,
the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in
the state. For information, visit
www.uams.edu.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.