U Professor Anne Moon won the 2002 Ross Award in Research by Young Investigators from the Western Society for Pediatric Research.
The award honors Moon for her research in identifying genes that cause heart defects.
Moon, assistant professor of pediatrics at the U School of Medicine, said the award includes $1,000 and a plaque.
She was recently appointed as an investigator with the U’s program in human molecular biology and genetics.
Moon came to the U in 1995 on a post-doctoral fellowship to work with world-renowned geneticist Mario Capecchi.
Using the “knockout” gene technique pioneered by Capecchi, Moon studied how specific cellular growth factors influence development of defects in the limbs and how altering those genes during development can cause limb and other defects.
That research led her into studying how specific cellular growth factors influence development of defects in the heart and how altering those genes during development can cause heart defects.
She now has her own lab where she is researching growth factor proteins and how they affect heart development.
“The knockout gene technique in mice, invented by Dr. Capecchi, allows researchers to replace a normal copy of a gene with a mutated copy they have created,” Moon said. “The mouse then has two copies of the gene, one normal and one mutated. Then the mouse is bred to see what happens.”
Her research may ultimately help physicians diagnose heart defects in infants and children.
Further research may lead to more and better tests that will help doctors find and accurately predict genetic defects in the womb.
“Our research with mice may identify genes that cause heart and limb birth defects in people,” said Moon. “If that turns out to be the case, then eventually, genetic tests could be developed to test parents or babies.”
Along with her research and teaching duties, Moon works in the intensive care unit at Primary Children’s Medical Center where she is an attending physician.
Moon received her bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Iowa and her medical degree and doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She served her residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, NY. She has won several other awards during her time here at the U.