From autism to diabetes to Parkinson's disease
Twenty-two of the nation's most enterprising researchers were named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts today. The scholarships provide flexible funding to early-career scientists researching the basis of perplexing health problems such as diabetes, autism, Parkinson's disease, and cancer. The new scholars join a prestigious community of researchers who have gone on to become Nobel laureates, MacArthur fellows, Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award winners, and hundreds of other pioneers who earned Pew grants at the start of their careers.
"The Pew scholars program gives innovative scientists both the freedom to take calculated risks and the resources to pursue the most promising, but untried, avenues for scientific breakthroughs," said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of Pew. "Pew funding provides an 'insurance policy,' allowing our scientists to be adventurous with their research. Though their scientific fields are diverse, their commitment is uniform: harnessing scientific discovery to improve human health."
The scholars program, launched in 1985, has granted more than $120 million in funding to more than 500 scientists at the beginning of their independent careers. The rigorously competitive program awards recipients $240,000 over four years to pursue their projects without direction or restriction. To be considered, applicants must demonstrate excellence and creativity in their research. This year, 179 institutions were invited to nominate a candidate, and 134 eligible nominations were received.
"Now more than ever, young scientists need the support to pursue untested leads," said Craig C. Mello, Ph.D., a 1995 Pew scholar and a 2006 Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine. "I am confident that these gifted scholars will make tremendous contributions to science. Their work will provide the world with new knowledge and tools to do tomorrow what seems impossible today."
Pew also directs the Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences, which for 22 years has provided support to young Latin American scientists receiving postdoctoral training in the United States.
The 2013 Pew biomedical scholars are:
Hillel Adesnik, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
Neuroscience
Mark Andermann, Ph.D.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Neuroscience
Bo Chen, Ph.D.
Yale University
Neuroscience
Claudio Giraudo, Ph.D.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Cell biology and immunology
Andrew Goodman, Ph.D.
Yale University
Microbiology
Viviana Gradinaru, Ph.D.
California Institute of Technology
Neuroscience
Sergei Grivennikov, Ph.D.
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Cancer biology and immunology
Andrew Huberman, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego
Developmental neurobiology
Suckjoon Jun, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego
Quantitative and physical biology
Shingo Kajimura, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Developmental biology and metabolism
Jeffrey Kidd, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Genomics
April Kloxin, Ph.D.
University of Delaware
Bioengineering and integrative biology
Fei Li, Ph.D.
New York University
Gene regulation and chromatin biology
Shelly Peyton, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Bioengineering and cancer biology
Manu Prakash, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Bioengineering and insect ecology
Avital Rodal, Ph.D.
Brandeis University
Neuroscience
June Round, Ph.D.
University of Utah
Microbiology and immunology
Alexander Sobolevsky, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Biochemistry and molecular biophysics
Leo Wan, Ph.D.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Bioengineering
Ilana Witten, Ph.D.
Princeton University
Neuroscience
Qi Wu, Ph.D.
University of Iowa
Neuroscience and energy metabolism
Qiaobing Xu, Ph.D.
Tufts University
Bioengineering
More information:
directory.pewscholars.org/
Provided by Pew Health Group
