Matthew Fero, one of the two 1997 winners of the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation Fellowship Awards, continues his project investigating cyclins, a group of proteins involved in the regulation of tumor growth and cancer cell regulation. His work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has resulted in five publications in major scholarly journals.

His sponsor and project leader, Dr. James M. Roberts, describes Dr. Fero's performance as outstanding. He states "Matt has a strong sense of how to define an experimental question and is extremely thoughtful and critical in drawing conclusions."

Dr. Fero received his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine in 1990. He spent three years at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. He then moved to Seattle with his wife, Jutta, and his two daughters who are now ages 6 and 10. Jutta is a research technologist with 17 years of molecular biology experience and works with Dr. Steve Collins in the Department of Molecular Medicine here at the Hutchinson Center. When not working the family enjoys outings to the Cascade mountains for hiking in summer, and snow skiing in winter.

Dr. Fero worked for three additional years as an oncology fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, and during this time began his current research projects. His current work has important implications for various disease states that are influenced by p27, a cell cycle inhibitor. He has shown, for example, the p27 gene is a tumor suppressor. In a letter to Dr. E. D. Thomas, Dr. Fero wrote "I would like you to know that I appreciate your efforts to fund the research endeavor of young investigators. The support and recognition provided by the Carreras foundation comes at a pivotal time in the careers of young scientists."