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Benjamin Voight: PECASE

Benjamin F. Voight, an assistant professor of systems pharmacology and translational therapeutics and of genetics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

“It is an incredible honor to be selected for this award in recognition of the importance of our work to develop computational methods to identify genetic risk factors and genes associated with type-2 diabetes,” Dr. Voight said.

This award is the highest honor given by the United States government to scientists and engineers during the early stages of their independent research careers.

In early January, former President Barack Obama named 102 recipients of the PECASE award based on recommendations from participating federal agencies. Dr. Voight was among the recipients put forward by the US Department of Health and Human Services. According to the White House press release, the recipients are selected for their “pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and for their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.” The PECASE award was established in 1996.

Dr. Voight, a human geneticist and computational biologist, studies the influence of DNA sequence variation on complex human disease. His recent work has focused on mapping risk alleles for type-2 diabetes and heart attacks.

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