Dr. Masaoki Kawasumi Wins ASP New Investigator Award
Congratulations to Masaoki Kawasumi, MD, PhD, (he, him) Assistant Professor in the UW Division of Dermatology and Principal Investigator for the Kawasumi Lab, for receiving the New Investigator Award at the American Society for Photobiology (ASP) 2022 Biennial Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico from Sept. 25-28.
The ASP New Investigator Award recognizes individuals performing promising quality research in the fields of photomedicine, photobiology, photochemistry, and/or photophysics at a relatively early stage in their career.
In addition to earning this significant achievement, Dr. Kawasumi also participated in the 2022 Biennial Meeting by serving as a session chair for six research presentations focused on "UV-induced responses and skin cancer."
Click here to view a complete list of scientific abstracts and 2022 award winners.
About the American Society for Photobiology (ASP)
The ASP’s Biennial Meeting welcomes academic researchers, clinicians, and teachers from around the world to take part in a wide range of scientific sessions, keynote lectures, symposia and a poster session covering many aspects of contemporary photochemistry and photobiology. The conference also hosts networking and mentorship events for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to explore career pathways, foster community and support advancements in communicating photobiology and photochemistry.
Established in 1972 to promote the photobiological sciences, this year’s scientific meeting also celebrated the ASP’s 50th anniversary. Over the last 50 years the ASP has worked to promote research in photobiology, integration of different photobiology disciplines, dissemination of photobiology knowledge, and provide information on photobiological aspects of national and international issues.
In 2020, Dr. Kawasumi was elected to become an ASP Councilor, and he has been serving as a Co-Chair of ASP’s Webinar Committee. The ASP Webinar Series invites speakers from across the country to share their research during a free virtual meeting on the first Thursday of every month. The series has been well-received and continues to attract more researchers to the photobiology field.
Dr. Kawasumi & The Kawasumi Lab
Dr. Masaoki Kawasumi is a photobiology and skin cancer researcher at the University of Washington. Following his graduation from Keio University School of Medicine, Dr. Kawasumi received PhD training in the neuroscience field. After completing postdoctoral work with Dr. Paul Nghiem, Dr. Kawasumi launched a research laboratory at the University of Washington in 2016.
The Kawasumi Lab investigates molecular mechanisms of UV-induced skin carcinogenesis with a goal of developing novel means to inhibit skin cancer. Recent work has focused on better understanding how cells respond to UV-induced DNA damage, revealing differential roles of two major types of UV-induced DNA lesions (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers [CPDs] and 6-4 photoproducts [6-4PPs]). The work was published in PNAS: “The 6-4 photoproduct is the trigger of UV-induced replication blockage and ATR activation.”
For more information, please visit the Kawasumi Lab website.
