Congratulations to the 2022 Leading Edge Fellows!
2022 Leading Edge Fellows
Katherine Xue
Ecology and evolution in the human gut microbiome
Postdoc, Stanford University
Clarissa Whitmire
Somatosensory neural coding
Postdoc, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine
Shira Weingarten-Gabbay
Viral non-canonical ORFs as a hidden source for T cell epitopes
Postdoc, Broad Institute
Anna Vlasits
Circuit function and neurodiversity in the mammalian retina
Postdoc, Northwestern University
Christine Vazquez
Central nervous system immune evasion strategies of emerging viruses
Postdoc, University of Pennsylvania
Supraja Varadarajan
Role of postsynaptic target activity in visual circuit regeneration
Postdoc, Stanford University
Tigist Tamir
Defining the role of protein phosphorylation on metabolic enzymes
Postdoc, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT
Simón(e) Sun
Neuronal epigenetic regulation by estrogen receptor beta
Postdoc, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Heather Snell
Cerebellar contribution to motor and non-motor disorders
Postdoc, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Natalia Shylo
Evolution of developmental mechanisms in reptiles and mammals.
Postdoc, Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Shermel Sherman
Estrogen-Responsive Brain-Jaw Circuit in Temporomandibular Disorders
Postdoc, UCSF
Anusha Shankar
Avian physiological ecology (energetics, heterothermy) and transcriptomics
Postdoc, Cornell University
Elise Savier
Contribution of the secondary visual pathway to vision
Incoming Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Elle Roberson
Molecular genetic mechanisms of adult uterine remodeling
Postdoc, University of Texas at Austin
Mónica Quiñones-Frías
Structural dynamics of neuronal endoplasmic reticulum and its contacts
Postdoc, Brandeis University
Connie Phong
Mechanisms underlying robustness of developmental regulatory systems against environmental perturbations
Postdoc, Stanford University
Adriane Otopalik
Mechanisms of behavioral flexibility and evolution
Postdoc, Rockefeller University
Sarah Naomi Olsen
Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation by chromatin complexes
Postdoc, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Lisa-Marie Nisbett
Exploring the functional relationship between outer membrane biogenesis and lipid export pathways in mycobacteria
Postdoc, Stony Brook University
Glennis Logsdon
The sequence, structure, and evolution of human centromeres
Postdoc, University of Washington
Grace Kenney
Uncovering new enzyme families in natural product biosynthesis
Postdoc, Harvard University
Jessica Kelliher
Host-pathogen interactions in the cytosol
Postdoc, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Priyanka Joshi
Mechanisms of biochemical homeostasis in aging and age-related diseases
Postdoc, University of California, Berkeley
Chinyere Iweka
Circadian regulation of immune cell metabolism
Postdoc, Stanford University
Miranda Hunter
Spatial regulation of melanoma invasion
Postdoc, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Emily Hager
Coordination of cell behavior in complex environments
Postdoc, Boston University
Pragya Goel
Signaling structure for dopamine coding in the striatum
Postdoc, Harvard Medical School
Leonor Garcia-Bayona
Genetics and ecology of the intestinal Bacteroidales
Postdoc, University of Chicago
Christina Fitzsimmons
RNA epitranscriptomics in health and disease
Postdoc, National Institutes of Health
Tahra Eissa
Neural and cognitive mechanisms of adaptive decision-making
Postdoc, UC Boulder
Laura Desban
Role of microbiota in olfactory-driven social behaviors
Postdoc, University of Oregon
Catherine Denning-Jannace
Targeting metallohomeostasis for antifungal drug development
Postdoc, Duke University
Joaquina Delás
Noncoding genome regulation of developmental cell fate choice
Postdoc, The Francis Crick Institute
Sarah Bowling
Lineage tracing in early mouse development
Postdoc, Boston Children's Hospital
Berfin Azizoğlu
Vascularization in organ development and regeneration
Postdoc, Stanford University
Noëlle Antao
Developing 3D models to characterise a human microsporidian parasite
Postdoc, NYU
Krista Angileri
Transposon control as a checkpoint during regeneration
Postdoc, Cornell University
2021 Leading Edge Fellows
Meike van der Heijden
Neural signals during dynamic cerebellar development
Postdoc, Baylor College of Medicine
Chelsey Spriggs
Host-pathogen interactions during viral entry
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Delia Shelton
Environmental Psychology Innovation Center (EPIC): solving grand challenges in environmental and human health
Incoming Assistant Professor, U. Miami
Mohini Sengupta
Neural circuits for motor control in the spinal cord
Postdoc, Wash U St. Louis
Rebeca San Martin
Microenvironment influence on the 3D genome of prostate cancer
Postdoc, University of Tennessee
Melissa Roth
Regulation and dynamics of photosynthesis and metabolism
Postdoc, UC Berkeley
Aleah Roberts
Molecular mechanisms of non-canonical B Cell Receptor endocytosis
Postdoc, NIH
Deepa Ramamurthy
Neural circuits for attentional selection in sensory cortex
Postdoc, UC Berkeley
Novalia Pishesha
Engineered nanobodies as immune modulators for autoimmunity and infectious diseases
Postdoc, Harvard and MIT
Sarah Pfau
The molecular and cellular bases of blood-brain barrier heterogeneity
Postdoc, Harvard Medical School
Nicole Perry-Hauser
The role of latrophillins in cell signaling and synapse formation
Postdoc, Columbia University
Jasmine Nirody
Adaptive locomotion through complex environments
Postdoc, Rockefeller University and University of Oxford
Alexandria Miller
Structure and function of a SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein
Postdoc, Janelia Research Campus
Molly Matty
Microbiome influences on animal behavior
Incoming Assistant Professor, University of Portland
Anne Martin
Identifying how synapse coordination is achieved across a neural circuit
Postdoc, University of Oregon
Maria Maldonado
Structure and function of respiratory complexes and supercomplexes
Postdoc, UC Davis
Jennifer Kong
Mechanisms of morphogen sensitivity underlying congenital heart defects
Incoming Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Stacey Kigar
Neuroimmunology of stress-induced behavioral changes
Postdoc, University of Cambridge
Shan He
Biogenesis of the eukaryotic CO2 concentrating organelle, the pyrenoid
Postdoc, Princeton University
Kathryn Gunn
Structure and mechanism of lipid metabolizing proteins
Postdoc, University of North Carolina
Lydia Grmai
Sex-biased regulation of steroid hormones in gonad development
Postdoc, University of Pittsburgh
Ana Gonzalez-Reiche
Molecular evolutionary dynamics of virus transmission and host-virus interactions
Postdoc, Mount Sinai
Lisa Eshun-Wilson
Mitochondrial quality control by diverse proteases
Postdoc, Scripps Institute
Julie Elie
The neuroethology of vocal communication in bats and songbirds
Postdoc, UC Berkeley
Andrea d'Aquino
Sustained delivery of GLP-1 receptor agonists for the treatment of diabetes
Postdoc, Stanford
Jeeyun Chung
Spatiotemporal regulation of lipid metabolism
Postdoc, Harvard Medical School
Jenna Christensen
Intracellular transport diversity in fungal and human cells
Postdoc, UC San Diego
Sisi Chen
Probing the multicellular mechanisms of drug response in heterogeneous immune cell populations
Postdoc, Caltech
Caroline Bartman
Developing new methods to measure in vivo tumor metabolism
Postdoc, Princeton University
Sanchari Bhattacharyya
Genotype-phenotype relationship in bacterial systems
Postdoc, Harvard University
Arianna Baggiolini
The developmental chromatin programs underlying oncogenic competence in melanoma
Incoming Group Leader, Institute of Oncology Research
Sweta Agrawal
Neural circuits underlying proprioception and motor control
Incoming Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
Alice Accorsi
Development and regeneration of complex sensory organs
Postdoc, Stowers Institute
2021 New Faculty Fellows
Genoa Warner
Female reproductive toxicology and endocrine disruption
Assistant Professor,
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Tina Termini
Hematopoietic stem cell and vascular regeneration
Assistant Professor, Fred Hutch
Yadira Soto-Feliciano
Transcriptional regulation by chromatin adaptor proteins
Assistant Professor, MIT Biology and Koch Institute for Cancer Research
Megan Martik
Gene regulatory networks in vertebrate development and regeneration
Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley
Josefina del Mármol
Structural mechanism of olfaction
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Tina Kim
Optical and molecular approaches to studying cortical neural circuits
Assistant Professor,
UC Davis
Maureen Cetera
Cell coordination during morphogenesis
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Simone Brixius-Anderko
Cytochrome P450 structure/function in human disease
Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh
2020 Leading Edge Fellows
Claudia Vásquez
Physics of epithelial lumen stability
Incoming Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Christina Towers
Autophagy dependence in cancer cells
Assistant Professor
Salk Institute
He Tian
Directed evolution of biosensors for imaging neural activity
Postdoc
Harvard University
Monique Smith
Social communication of pain and elucidating the neural circuits of empathy
Assistant Professor,
University of San Diego
Naima Sharaf
Structure and function of the Neisseria meningitidis ABC methionine transporter system
Assistant Professor,
Stanford University
Dorian Rosen
Modulating cellular stress responses to improve outcomes in neurological disorders
Postdoc
Scripps
Lauren Rajakovich
Human gut microbial metabolism
Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Lindsay LaFave
Chromatin state in lung adenocarcinoma
Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Jennifer Kan
Designing and engineering de novo protein functions
Managing partner, Climate Capital Frontier
Victoria Hung
Ribosome heterogeneity in gene regulation and cell fate
Postdoc
Stanford University
Erin Hisey
Neural circuits underlying learning and forgetting
Postdoc
McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Liz Haynes
Imaging neural development across whole-embryo and single cell scales
Postdoc
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Farah Haque
Microtubule-based regulatory mechanisms underlying signaling
Postdoc
Massachusetts General Hospital
Liangliang Hao
Engineering precision diagnostics for cancer
Incoming Assistant Professor, Boston University
Jessica Gray
Single cell insights into evolution and development
Postdoc
Harvard Medical School
Aleena Garner
Neural circuits in memory-sensory interplay
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Jaye Gardiner
Cancer-associated fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer
Postdoc
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Clarissa Durie
Visualizing bacterial secretion systems
Assistant Professor, University of Missouri
Anne Draelos
Real-time analysis and stimulation of neuronal populations
Postdoc
Duke University
Danfeng Cai
Chromatin organization and transcription regulation
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Liz Boydston
Specialized organelles for host-parasite interactions
Product Manager
Ginkgo Bioworks
Heike Blockus
Linking synaptic specificity to neuronal circuit function
Senior Scientist
Verge Genomics
Cecilia Blengini
Chromosome segregation during female meiosis in mammals
Postdoc
Rutgers University
N. Sumru Bayin
Neural stem cell diversity and age-dependent regenerative processes in the brain
Group Leader
Gurdon Institute, Cambridge University
Sarah Ackerman
Neuron-glia dynamics in circuit development, refinement, and behavior
Assistant Professor,
Washington University School of Medicine