Reposted from UNC Research.
Each year, the Postdoctoral Awards for Research Excellence (PARE) are given in recognition of the research promise demonstrated by individual postdoctoral scholars. . . .
The PARE awards are open to postdoctoral scholars in all disciplines and are designed to assist them in their continued professional development by supporting the recipients in conference travel, purchasing books, lab materials, or engaging in other scholarly activities that directly enhance the individual’s professional growth. Each recipient receives a monetary award of $1,200 along with a plaque.
Nipun Saini, Nutrition Research Institute
Nipun Saini is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Nutrition Research Institute under the mentorship of Susan Smith. Her professors say Saini’s “exceptionalism reflects a combination of brilliant insight, a fine-honed research focus, and sheer grit.” She researches nutrient-alcohol interactions in alcohol-exposed pregnancies, specifically the effects of alcohol-glucose metabolic interactions in the maternal-fetal dyad in a mouse model of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Saini also leads a second project that studies alcohol-iron interactions in the PAE pregnancy model. The findings from this research highlight the potential contribution of alcohol’s dysregulation of maternal metabolism.
Each of the winners will be presenting their research activity at the PARE Talks during this year’s University Research Week. The PARE Talks will be held on Monday, October 10 at 4 p.m. in Koury Oral Health Science Building, Room G411.
