EH Doctoral Student James Watt Wins Dean’s Award at BU Scholars Day.

James Watt, a doctoral student of environmental health, won the SPH Dean’s Award for Student Research at the Boston University Scholars Day celebration on April 15.

Watt was recognized for his poster, “Emerging Toxicants Induce Adipogenesis and Suppress Osteogenesis in Mouse Mesenchymal Stromal Cells,” a summation of research conducted with the guidance of advisor Jennifer Schlezinger, PhD, an associate professor of environmental health.

Watt is a trainee in the Boston University Superfund Research Program, an interdisciplinary effort to conduct and communicate research on the effects of improperly managed hazardous wastes. He is working with Schlezinger on a project that seeks to determine how environmental chemicals impair the development of the mammalian immune system and accelerate bone aging. Watt and Schlezinger will share a cash prize.

Watt received his BA in kinesiology and applied physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2002. While working as a technician in a biophysics lab at Boston University, he completed his Master of Science degree in the Department of Environmental Health at BUSPH, with a focus on toxicology and risk assessment.

The annual Scholars Day, formerly called the BU Science and Engineering Research Symposium, promotes and recognizes research by Boston University graduate students and is open to all graduate students in degree-granting programs.