Westborough, MA, March 05, 2013 —

The National Board of Trustees at the March of Dimes Foundation has awarded Dr. Michael Yoon-Suk Choi of Massachusetts General Hospital with a Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award grant.

Dr. Choi will be conducting research on “Novel Function of MicroRNAs in Endoderm Induction.” He is an assistant professor at the Department of Medicine, GI Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The amount of the grant is $150,000 for a period of two years through January 31, 2015.

The March of Dimes has invested more than $84 million nationally in research and more than $7.9 million through national research grants in Massachusetts.

Dr. Choi specializes in Gastroenterology and his clinical interests include Colonic Neoplasms and Endoderm research. His previous presentations and publications focus on the importance of MicroRNAs for programming stem cells.

About the March of Dimes:

In 2013, the March of Dimes celebrates its 75^th Anniversary and its ongoing work to help babies get a healthy start in life.  Early research led to the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines that all babies still receive.  Other breakthroughs include new treatments for premature infants and children with birth defects.  About 4 million babies are born each year in the United States, and all have benefitted from March of Dimes lifesaving research and education.

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