TEMPE, Ariz. Gro Amdam, an assistant professor in Arizona State Universitys School of Life Sciences who heads social insect studies in laboratories at both ASU and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, is one of 20 researchers now bearing the distinction Outstanding Young Investigator from the Research Council of Norway.
Known in Norway as the Yngre Fremragende Forskere award, this major research funding program is designed to enable talented young researchers within all disciplines to realize their potential and achieve international excellence in research.
Amdam will receive the U.S. equivalent of about $1.6 million over four years from this award to support her research in understanding the genetic and physiological basis of life history regulation in honeybees at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences.
She emphasizes the importance of the prize for career development: The funds awarded through the Norwegian Outstanding Young Investigator program are more substantial than what is commonly granted to young investigators, Amdam says. This gives the awardees unique opportunities to build strong research programs early on.
According to the council, of the 179 applicants, the 20 selected as Outstanding Young Investigators range in age from 25 to 41, and, women researchers represent 40 percent of the group.
Arvid Hallen, the director general of the Research Council of Norway, was quoted saying that this search specifically encouraged female researchers: We have waited for an increased proportion of women to be recruited at the doctorate level in Norway to provide us with a greater number of accomplished and talented women researchers.
The Research Council of Norway was established in 1993 and charged with the promotion and support of Norwegian basic and applied research in all areas of science, technology, medicine and the humanities. The Outstanding Yo
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Contact: Margaret Coulombe
Margaret.coulombe@asu.edu
480-787-8934
Arizona State University
10-Jul-2007