Friday, June 15, 2012 | 7:45 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA Peter Cornish has always been interested in discovery and figuring out how things function.

These interests have led him to national recognition.

Cornish, a biochemistry assistant professor at MU, is one of the22individuals in the nation to be named a 2012 Pew Scholar in the biomedical sciences.He is the first MU faculty member to receive the honor while working at the university.

It is a big deal for me and a big deal for the university, Cornish said. It not only provides money for research but also notoriety.

Pew Scholars are considered to be among the most innovative young researchers. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts website, the community includes Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows and Albert Lasker BasicMedical Research Award recipients.

Since 1985, the program has invited top research institutions to nominate one candidate each year. It received 134 eligible nominations from a pool of 179 institutions this year.

Winners receive $240,000over four years to help them pursue their research without major restrictions.The program looks to back scientists early in their careers so they can take calculated risks to help advance the human health field.

Even though Cornish only started at MU in the spring of 2010, his talent, past work and future potential made him a great fit to be MUs Pew Scholar nominee, said Gerald Hazelbauer, chairman of the Biochemistry Department.

Cornish is working with technologycalled Frster resonance energy transfer (FRET), which is relatively new and developing quite rapidly, Hazelbauer said. Single-molecule FRET gives scientists the ability to look at molecules on an individual basis.

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MU biochemistry assistant professor Peter Cornish named Pew Scholar