Richard Allsopp, an assistant professor and graduate program co-chair at the Institute for Biogenesis Research at the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine, has been selected for a $25,000 research grant by the Tilker Medical Research Foundation.

Allsopp's work involves research on telomerase, a protein conglomerate helping maintain the genetic material in cells.

Allsopp's work will examine how telomerase is regulated in stem cells, something that could aid in developing therapies to fight cancer and address aging, including targeting neuromuscular and degenerative diseases.