June 27, 2006

Two SIU School of Medicine students have recently received national honors

Michael Bonkowski, a doctoral student in pharmacology, has received a competitive three-week fellowship to attend the Molecular Biology of Aging course this August in Woods Hole, Mass., sponsored by the Ellison Medical Foundation. He was one of 20 selected from an international group of applicants for the award, which is based on productivity in the field.

Bonkowski earned his master's degree in animal sciences specializing in endocrinology at SIU (2003) and his bachelor’s from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (1999). He has had 13 manuscripts published on his research interest of geriatrics and aging, including an article in the Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences.

Bonkowski is the son of Michael and Nancy Bonkowski of Burbank. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Petersburg.

Dr. Caren DeGiacinto Schaecher, a 2006 graduate from SIU School of Medicine, received the 2006 Dr. John Gusdon Memorial New Investigator of the Year Award from the American Society for Reproductive Immunology (ASRI). The award is based on scientific merit and a presentation of her research project at the ASRI's 26th annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., in June.

Schaecher worked in the laboratory of Donald Torry, Ph.D., associate professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology at SIU. Her research project was on preeclampsia, one of the leading obstetrical complications in developed countries.

Schaecher is currently a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University Consortium Barnes – Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. (2001). Schaecher is the daughter of Charles and Vickie DeGiacinto of Edwardsville and is married to Scott Schaecher from Edwardsville.

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