Member News

Cedeño–Rosario and Kaweesa win research award

ASBMB Staff
By ASBMB Staff
Sept. 8, 2025

Luis Cedeño–Rosario of the University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine and Elizabeth Kaweesa of the University of Illinois Chicago received the Dr. Eddie Méndez Scholar Award from the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. The award honors outstanding early-career scientists studying cancer, infectious disease and basic science and is named after Méndez, who was a physician–scientist at Fred Hutch.

Luis Cedeño–Rosario
Luis Cedeño–Rosario

Cedeño–Rosario is a postdoctoral researcher in the Jared Rutter lab at the University of Utah. His work explores how cancer cells alter their internal wiring to support unchecked growth and resist treatment, uncovering how shifts in metabolism can give tumors a survival advantage. In 2020, he won the Tony Quinn Inclusive Excellence Award, which honors a scientist who is committed to mentoring students and increasing the participation of underrepresented students in science. Cedeño–Rosario earned his Ph.D. at the University of Toledo.

Elizabeth Kaweesa
Elizabeth Kaweesa

Kaweesa is a postdoctoral research associate in the Joanna E. Burdette lab, where she is exploring how natural compounds might be used to treat high-grade serous ovarian cancer, an aggressive malignancy, often diagnosed in its later stages. Kaweesa was recently featured in an ASBMB Today article. She is a National Institutes of Health Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award recipient and previously received an NIH Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers award. Kaweesa earned her Ph.D. at the University of Florida.

"This year's recipients are continuing to make strides in innovative research," Christina Termini, co-director of the Fred Hutch program, said. "Like Dr. Méndez, their passion for science and discovery will continue to drive life-changing science."

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
ASBMB Staff
ASBMB Staff

This article was written by a member or members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology staff.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in People

People highlights or most popular articles

ASBMB names 2026 award winners
Award

ASBMB names 2026 award winners

Sept. 5, 2025

Check out their lectures at the annual meeting in March in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Peer through a window to the future of science
Annual Meeting

Peer through a window to the future of science

Sept. 3, 2025

Aaron Hoskins of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Sandra Gabelli of Merck, co-chairs of the 2026 ASBMB annual meeting, to be held March 7–10, explain how this gathering will inspire new ideas and drive progress in molecular life sciences.

Castiglione and Ingolia win Keck Foundation grants
Member News

Castiglione and Ingolia win Keck Foundation grants

Sept. 1, 2025

They will receive at least $1 million of funding to study the biological mechanisms that underly birds' longevity and sequence–function relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins.

How undergrad research catalyzes scientific careers
Essay

How undergrad research catalyzes scientific careers

Aug. 27, 2025

Undergraduate research doesn’t just teach lab skills, it transforms scientists. For Antonio Rivera and Julissa Cruz–Bautista, joining a lab became a turning point, fostering critical thinking, persistence and research identity.

Simcox and Gisriel receive mentoring award
Member News

Simcox and Gisriel receive mentoring award

Aug. 25, 2025

They were honored for contributing their time, knowledge, energy and enthusiasm to mentoring postdocs in their labs.

ASBMB names 2025 Marion B. Sewer scholarship recipients
Society News

ASBMB names 2025 Marion B. Sewer scholarship recipients

Aug. 21, 2025

Ten undergraduates interested in biochemistry and molecular biology will each receive $2,000 toward their tuition and related educational costs.