Dariush Forouzezh Awarded the 2022-23 Schmitt Fellowship

Dariush Forouzesh joined the Moran laboratory in 2018 and has been awarded the 2022-23 Arthur J.Schmitt Fellowship from the Arthur J.Schmitt Foundation. For the past four years Dariush has studied the enzyme, dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) that has proven to be a most demanding and difficult project. Nonetheless, Dariush has published three research articles and one review that collectively redefine the understanding of how this enzyme functions. One particularly important contribution was defining how the inhibitor 5-ethynyluracil (5EU) interacts with DPD. 5EU is an FDA approved chemosensitizer with the potential to dramatically improve outcomes for many cancer patients. The support from the Schmitt foundation will allow Dariush to finish his contribution to the DPD project and prepare his dissertation in 2023.