Arzuaga Receives Award at National Society of Toxicologists Meeting

(March 2007) - Dr. Xabier Arzuaga, a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Bernhard Hennig's lab, received one of two postdoctoral SS Merck Postdoctoral Travel Awards at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicologists in Seattle.

The award came through the SOT's Specialty Section, which "represents a diverse group of members of the Society of Toxicology who have in common interests and expertise in elucidating the cellular, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action of toxic substances." Selection of awardees was based on the strength of the mechanistic focus of their research and letters of recommendations.

Born in Puerto Rico, Dr. Arzuaga attended the Universidad de Puerto Rico before coming to the University of Kentucky as a doctoral student. He joined Dr. Hennig's laboratory as a postdoctoral scholar in 2004.

Dr. Arzuaga is interested in the biochemical and molecular effects of environmental contaminants, such as PCBs, in the pathology of vascular diseases. Specifically, he is studying cellular signaling pathways activated by these pollutants and how nutrition can influence the exposure outcome in cell culture models and genetically modified mice, with a long-term interest in impacts on human populations.