Elizabeth Duchow has received a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). The award highlights young researchers who submit top-ranking abstracts to an ASBMR meeting.
“It’s very exciting to receive this award because it draws more attention to the research being performed in our lab,” said Duchow. “I am hoping that this new information will stimulate new questions in the field of vitamin D research!”
Duchow, a student in the lab of emeritus Professor Hector DeLuca, researches the role of vitamin D binding protein (DBP) in the transport and metabolism of vitamin D that is produced in the skin from sunlight. She and her colleagues have discovered that this protein (DBP) is required in order to utilize vitamin D made in the skin.
“Because vitamin D deficiency can compromise several biological activities,” said Duchow, “an understanding of all of the routes whereby we obtain vitamin D is essential.”
Duchow, a Wisconsin native, joined DeLuca’s lab in 2013 as an undergraduate student researching the role of vitamin D in autoimmune diseases. She received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry in 2015 and is now a graduate student in the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB).
“Liz’s development has been a pleasure to direct,” said DeLuca. “She’s developed into a truly outstanding investigator in my laboratory. Her work has broken new ground in our understanding of naturally produced vitamin D in skin by ultraviolet radiation.”
Duchow was honored with the award in a presentation at the 2020 ASBMR annual meeting, which was held virtually this year.