By Sohrab Andaz For most people, its a privilege to just meet President Obama.

Assistant professor of biology Jay Parrish will not only meet and share a few words with the President, but will also receive the single most prestigious award bestowed by the United States government on young science and engineering professionals, the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, from President Obama. The research for which he is being awarded establishes a link between nerve cell specialization and the health of dendrites, the region of nerve cells responsible for intercepting neurological messages. His research suggests that certain environmental factors and genetic mutations can lead to a deterioration of dendritic integrity. Its really an honor, Parrish said. This sort of recognition is really gratifying. Parrish explained that the neural systems structure is analogous to a computer, where each part of the circuit generates specialized information that must be communicated to other parts of the machine to maintain the integrity of the entire structure. If the health of the dendrites is impaired, the nerve cells will be unable to maintain their specialization, which will lead to the degradation of the whole neural system. Numerous degenerative neurological diseases are implicated by his work including Down syndrome, autism, Parkinsons, Alzihmers, and even fetal alcohol syndrome. This is the second consecutive year where a member of the UW Biology department has won the award. In 2011, Ben Kerr won the award for research on the motion of hosts of infectious diseases. Parrish graciously attributed his success to his department and its organization. The UW a great research program, he said. The department is setup so that the younger faculty can be mentored by the senior faculty. And of course we have outstanding graduate students and tons of willing undergraduates. Parrish said that he has already felt some of the benefits of his accolade. The grant through which he conducted his award winning research has been extended. He also said that he hoped that this award would bring more focus to his research and the UW biologys program to inspire more funding. For Parrish, however, one of the most exciting consequences of his award is simply meeting President Obama.

He explained the ways he might introduce himself. I think Im just going to go for a standard handshake. People tried to tell me to give him a fist pump or elbow check. But I think some thing standard is just fine.