Current Awardees

Jonathan Beagan

Jonathan Beagan

2022

Project Title: Mapping the Transcriptional Bases of a Memory at Single Neuron Resolution
Postdoc Mentor: Daniel Colon-Ramos
Award Sponsor: Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation
Affiliation: Yale University
Email: jonathan.beagan@yale.edu

Scott Biering

Scott Biering

2020

Project Title: Identifying host factors required for flavivirus NS1 endocytosis and endothelial dysfunction
Postdoc Mentor: Eva Harris
Affiliation: University of California – Berkeley
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Email: sbiering {at} berkeley.edu
Jamie Blum

Jamie Blum

2022

Project Title: Contribution of Plant Metabolites to Allergy and Oral Tolerance
Postdoc Mentor: Elizabeth Sattely
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Stanford University
Email: jeblum@stanford.edu
Ian Boys

Ian Boys

2022

Project Title: Demystifying the viral proteome to identify host genes captured and repurposed by viruses
Postdoc Mentor: Nels Elde
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: University of Utah
Email: ian.boys@genetics.utah.edu
Cara Brand

Cara Brand

2020

Project Title: Maternally deposited proteins recurrently innovate to process paternal repetitive DNA in the embryo
Postdoc Mentor: Mia Levine
Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
Award Sponsor: Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation (The)
Email: clbrand {at} sas.upenn.edu
Arthur Charles-Orszag

Arthur Charles-Orszag

2020

Project Title: Unraveling the mechanisms of cell division in the thermophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
Postdoc Mentor: R. Dyche Mullins
Affiliation: University of California – San Francisco
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation (The)
Email: arthur.charles-orszag {at} ucsf.edu
Kai Chen

Kai Chen

2021

Project Title: Engineering a self-deliverable CRISPR-Cas9 system for precise genome editing
Postdoc Mentor: Jennifer A. Doudna
Award Sponsor: Additional Ventures
Affiliation: University of California, Berkeley
Email: kchen90 {at} berkeley.edu
Michael-John Dolan

Michael-John Dolan

2020

Project Title: Synapse-seq: Simultaneous acquisition of single-neuron transcriptome and neuroanatomy
Postdoc Mentor: Evan Macosko and Beth Stevens
Affiliation: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Medical School
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Email: mdolan {at} broadinstitute.org
Nimrod Elazar

Nimrod Elazar

2022

Project Title: Discovering the Astrocytic Compartment of Dopaminergic Synapses in Health and PD.
Postdoc Mentor: Cagla Eroglu
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Duke University
Email: nimrod.elazar@duke.edu
John Ferrie

John Ferrie

2021

Project Title: Chemical tools for uncovering the molecular mechanisms associated with transcriptional activation
Postdoc Mentor: Xavier Darzacq & Robert Tjian
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: University of California, Berkeley
Email: jferrie {at} berkeley.edu
Dominic Frank

Dominic Frank

2020

Project Title: The neuronal foundation of social behavior in the ant
Postdoc Mentor: Daniel Kronauer
Affiliation: Rockefeller University
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Email: dominic.frank {at} rockefeller.edu
Alexander Gorelick

Alexander Gorelick

2022

Project Title: Evaluating the molecular traits of metastasis founder-clones in primary colorectal tumors
Postdoc Mentor: Kamila Naxerova
Award Sponsor: MacMillan Family Foundation
Affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School
Email: agorelick@mgh.harvard.edu
Chloé Greppi

Chloé Greppi

2021

Project Title: Neuropeptide circuits that regulate mosquito attraction to hosts
Postdoc Mentor: Laura B. Duvall
Affiliation: Columbia University
Award Sponsor: Life Sciences Research Foundation
Email: cg3251 {at} columbia.edu
Emily Hager

Emily Hager

2022

Project Title: Using natural variation and cellular slime molds to uncover collective cell signaling rules
Postdoc Mentor: Allyson Sgro, Pankai Mehta and Christopher Chen
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Boston University
Email: ehager@bu.edu
Genaro Hernandez

Genaro Hernandez

2021

Project Title: Bringing dead enzymes back to life
Postdoc Mentor: Vincent S. Tagliabracci
Award Sponsor: DDBrown Awardee
Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Email: genaro.hernandez {at} utsouthwestern.edu
Luis Hernandez-Nunez

Luis Hernandez-Nunez

2022

Project Title: The neural circuits underlying cardiac function
Postdoc Mentor: Florian Engert
Award Sponsor: Additional Ventures
Affiliation: Harvard University
Email: luishernandeznunez@fas.harvard.edu
Yolanda Huang

Yolanda Huang

2020

Project Title: Deciphering the impact of phages on bacterial functions in the human gut microbiome
Postdoc Mentor: Adam P. Arkin
Affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Award Sponsor: Astellas Pharmaceuticals
Email: yolandahuang {at} lbl.gov
Zheng Huang

Zheng Huang

2021

Project Title: Discovery of cryptic secondary metabolites from the human microbiome
Postdoc Mentor: Mohammad Seyedsayamdost
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: Princeton University
Email: zheng.huang {at} mail.mcgill.ca
Juan Manuel Inclan Rico

Juan Manuel Inclan Rico

2021

Project Title: TRPV1+ sensory neurons mediate Schistosoma-induced itch and suppression of dermal DCs.
Postdoc Mentor: De’Broski Herbert
Award Sponsor: Life Sciences Research Foundation
Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
Email: jinclan {at} vet.upenn.edu
Alexander Johnson

Alexander Johnson

2021

Project Title: Molecular basis for innate immune modulation by the Schlafen proteins
Postdoc Mentor: Philip J. Kranzusch
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: DFCI/Harvard University
Email: alexanderG_Johnson {at} dfci.harvard.edu
Abhilasha Joshi

Abhilasha Joshi

2020

Project Title: Linking thoughts and actions through synchronization of sensory-motor and cognitive rhythms
Postdoc Mentor: Loren Frank
Affiliation: University of California – San Francisco
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Email: abhilasha.joshi {at} ucsf.edu
Joomyung (Vicky) Jun

Joomyung (Vicky) Jun

2021

Project Title: Gene therapy without the genes: delivering PTEN proteins via traceless bioreversible strategy
Postdoc Mentor: Ronald T. Raines
Award Sponsor: Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Email: joomjun {at} mit.edu
Isaac Kauvar

Isaac Kauvar

2021

Project Title: Dissecting curious exploration with self-supervised machine learning
Postdoc Mentor: Nick Haber
Award Sponsor: Merck
Affiliation: Stanford University
Email: ikauvar {at} stanford.edu

Tosha Kelly

Tosha Kelly

2020

Project Title: Testing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as a mediator of resistance and tolerance to malaria infection
Postdoc Mentor: Christine Lattin
Affiliation: Louisiana State University
Award Sponsor: Merck Research Laboratories
Email: trkelly {at} lsu.edu

Kanika Khanna

Kanika Khanna

2022

Project Title: Decoding structural basis of Burkholderia thailandensis virulence and host cell-cell fusion
Postdoc Mentor: Matthew Welch
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: University of California, Berkeley
Email: kkhanna@berkeley.edu

Arthur Kim

Arthur Kim

2022

Project Title: Discovery of host antiviral targets by integrated phenotypic screening and chemical proteomics
Postdoc Mentor: Benjamin F. Cravatt
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: The Scripps Research Institute
Email: akim@scripps.edu

Amy Lanctot

Amy Lanctot

2021

Project Title: Decoding rules of gene expression and quantitative trait variation in plants using deep conservation of cis-regulatory sequences
Postdoc Mentor: Zachary Lippman
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Email: lanctot {at} cshl.edu
Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu

Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu

2022

Project Title: A systematic search for novel rejuvenation factors through single cell profiling
Postdoc Mentor: Jonathan Weissman
Award Sponsor: Lei-Luo Life Science Fund
Affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research/MIT
Email: ylu@wi.mit.edu
Maria Lukarska

Maria Lukarska

2022

Project Title: Engineering a minimal Cas9 for highly efficient genome editing
Postdoc Mentor: David Savage
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: University of California, Berkeley
Email: mlukarska@berkeley.edu

Anastasia Manesis

Anastasia Manesis

2020

Project Title: Unraveling the metallo-mystery pair: the role of MbnP and MbnH in bacterial copper transport
Postdoc Mentor: Amy Rosenzweig
Affiliation: Northwestern University
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation (The)
Email: anastasia.manesis {at} northwestern.edu
Alberto Marin-Gonzalez

Alberto Marin-Gonzalez

2021

Project Title: DNA double-strand break repair in the 4D genome
Postdoc Mentor: Taekjip Ha
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Email: amaring1 {at} jhu.edu
Amelia McKitterick

Amelia McKitterick

2021

Project Title: Phage-host interactions to investigate Corynebacterial biology
Postdoc Mentor: Thomas Bernhardt
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Harvard University
Email: amelia_mckitterick {at} hms.harvard.edu
Michael Mohsen

Michael Mohsen

2022

Project Title: Designer Riboswitches for Gene Therapy
Postdoc Mentor: Ronald R. Breaker
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Yale University
Email: michael.mohsen@yale.edu
David Morgens

David Morgens

2020

Project Title: The link between viral DNA replication and late gene transcription in KSHV
Postdoc Mentor: Britt Glaunsinger
Affiliation: University of California – Berkeley
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Email: dmorgens {at} berkeley.edu
Brittany Moser

Brittany Moser

2021

Project Title: Advancing T-cell immunotherapies by high throughput detection of trogocytosis using scRNAseq
Postdoc Mentor: Zev Gartner
Award Sponsor: MacMillan Family Foundation
Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
Email: brittany.moser {at} ucsf.edu
Andreas Mueller

Andreas Mueller

2022

Project Title: A complete structural and kinetic characterization of σ54-mediated bacterial transcription initiation
Postdoc Mentor: Seth Darst
Award Sponsor: Agouron Institute
Affiliation: Rockefeller University
Email: amueller@rockefeller.edu
Amal Narayanan

Amal Narayanan

2022

Project Title: Decrypting the Nucleolar Surface Organization in Ribosome Biogenesis
Postdoc Mentor: Clifford P Brangwynne
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Princeton University
Email: an3209@princeton.edu
Abd El Raheem (Abed) Nashef

Abd El Raheem (Abed) Nashef

2022

Project Title: Temporal organization of movement sequences in the cerebellum
Postdoc Mentor: Abigail Person
Award Sponsor: Amgen
Affiliation: University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus
Email: abdelraheem.nashef@cuanschutz.edu
Nivin Nasri Nyström

Nivin Nasri Nyström

2021

Project Title: Monitoring on- and off-target transduction by engineered viral vectors non-invasively
Postdoc Mentor: Mikhail Shapiro
Award Sponsor: Amgen
Affiliation: California Institute of Technology
Email: nnystrom {at} caltech.edu
Tai Ng

Tai Ng

2021

Project Title: Developing cell-based assays and genetic circuits for sensing and responding to persistent viruses
Postdoc Mentor: Pamela A. Silver
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: Harvard University
Email: tai_ng {at} hms.harvard.edu
Asher Preska-Steinberg

Asher Preska-Steinberg

2020

Project Title: Phenotypic heterogeneity and concomitant spatial structure as a microbial survival strategy
Postdoc Mentor: Edo Kussell
Affiliation: New York University
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation (The)
Email: apsteinberg {at} nyu.edu
Nora Pyenson

Nora Pyenson

2022

Project Title: Defining Social Interactions and Mechanisms of Coexistence in Experimental Phage Communities
Postdoc Mentor: Paul Turner
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Yale University
Email: nora.pyenson@yale.edu
Xiaofeng Qi

Xiaofeng Qi

2019

Project Title: Study on the molecular mechanism of the Hedgehog signaling pathway
Postdoc Mentor: Xiaochun Li
Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Award Sponsor: DDBrown Fellowship
Email: xiaofeng.qi {at} utsouthwestern.edu
Kavita Rangan

Kavita Rangan

2020

Project Title: The role of RNA recoding in intracellular transport
Postdoc Mentor: Samara Reck-Peterson
Affiliation: University of California – San Diego
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Email: krangan {at} ucsd.edu
Hannah Ratner

Hannah Ratner

2022

Project Title: Probing the Contributions of Individual Species to Microbiome Ecology
Postdoc Mentor: Joseph Mougous
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: University of Washington
Email: hratner@uw.edu
Tiago Bruno Rezende de Castro

Tiago Bruno Rezende de Castro

2022

Project Title: Reproducible germinal center reaction by naive B-cell repertoire miniaturization
Postdoc Mentor: Gabriel Victora
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: Rockefeller University
Email: trezende@rockefeller.edu
Ellen Rim

Ellen Rim

2022

Project Title: Investigation of plant receptor signal transduction and directed evolution of receptors that bind novel immunogens
Postdoc Mentor: Pamela Ronald
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: University of California, Davis
Email: yrim@ucdavis.edu
Yue Rui

Yue Rui

2020

Project Title: Structure and function of the plant cell wall-plasma membrane interface
Postdoc Mentor: José R. Dinneny
Affiliation: Stanford University
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation (The)
Email: yuerui {at} stanford.edu
Jason Schrad

Jason Schrad

2021

Project Title: Structural characterization of giant viruses and their infection
Postdoc Mentor: Daniela Nicastro
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Email: jason.schrad {at} utsouthwestern.edu
Lauren Speare

Lauren Speare

2022

Project Title: Determining Mechanisms of Bacterial Predation for Marine Probiotics
Postdoc Mentor: Rebecca Vega Thurber
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Oregon State University
Email: spearel@oregonstate.edu
Sriram Srikant

Sriram Srikant

2022

Project Title: Evolution and population dynamics of viruses
Postdoc Mentor: Michael T. Laub
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Email: ssrikant@mit.edu
Jaimie Stewart

Jaimie Stewart

2020

Project Title: Design and synthesis of RNA condensates for the detection of biomolecules
Postdoc Mentor: Paul W.K. Rothemund
Affiliation: California Institute of Technology
Award Sponsor: Merck Research Laboratories
Email: jms {at} caltech.edu
Joseph Swift

Joseph Swift

2020

Project Title: Developing hormone biomarkers that report how water stress limits leaf growth
Postdoc Mentor: Joseph Ecker
Affiliation: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Email: jswift {at} salk.edu
Laura Thomas

Laura Thomas

2020

Project Title: Defining the composition, dynamics, and function of phase separated RNP granules in C. elegans
Postdoc Mentor: Geraldine Seydoux
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Email: tlaura2 {at} jhmi.edu
Mitchell Thompson

Mitchell Thompson

2021

Project Title: Defining the genetic basis of adaptive host-specificity in Agrobacterium
Postdoc Mentor: Patrick M. Shih
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Email: mthompson {at} lbl.gov
Kelsey Tyssowski

Kelsey Tyssowski

2020

Project Title: Deer mice as a novel model system to study the neural basis of motor behavior
Postdoc Mentor: Hopi Hoekstra
Affiliation: Harvard University
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Email: tyssowski {at} g.harvard.edu
Meaghan Van Alstyne

Meaghan Van Alstyne

2022

Project Title: Roles and applications of SRRM2 in the assembly and disassembly of tau aggregates
Postdoc Mentor: Roy Parker
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: University of Colorado, Boulder
Email: meva1786@colorado.edu
Zhaoning (Johnny) Wang

Zhaoning (Johnny) Wang

2022

Project Title: Interpreting and Functionally Characterizing the Noncoding Risk Variants of High Blood Cholesterol
Postdoc Mentor: Bing Ren
Award Sponsor: DDBrown Awardee
Affiliation: University of California, San Diego
Email: zhw063@health.ucsd.edu
Alexa Weingarden

Alexa Weingarden

2022

Project Title: Engineering bacteria to induce antigen-specific regulatory T cells and prevent colitis
Postdoc Mentor: Michael Fischbach
Award Sponsor: Open Philanthropy Project
Affiliation: Stanford University
Email: aweingar@stanford.edu
Jaime Wong Campos

Jaime Wong Campos

2021

Project Title: Deep brain imaging methods for chronic and multisite neurophysiology
Postdoc Mentor: Adam Cohen
Award Sponsor: Merck
Affiliation: Harvard University
Email: jwongcampos {at} fas.harvard.edu
Courtney Yaeger

Courtney Yaeger

2020

Project Title: The biophysics of learning: an investigation of dendritic mechanisms for neural plasticity
Postdoc Mentor: Mark Harnett
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute for Technology
Award Sponsor: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (The)
Email: yaeger {at} mit.edu
Hyerim Yi

Hyerim Yi

2022

Project Title: Deciphering the mechanism and significance of RNA-mediated ecDNA gene expression control in cancer
Postdoc Mentor: Howard Y. Chang and Paul S. Mischel
Award Sponsor: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Affiliation: Stanford University
Email: hyerimyi@stanford.edu
Joshua York

Joshua York

2021

Project Title: Deciphering the developmental and evolutionary basis of stem cell pluripotency and the emergence of the vertebrate neural crest
Postdoc Mentor: Carole LaBonne
Award Sponsor: Walder Foundation
Affiliation: Northwestern University
Email: joshua.york {at} northwestern.edu
Jamie (Jia Jia) Zhang

Jamie (Jia Jia) Zhang

2021

Project Title: Identification of endogenous substrates and regulators of Clp proteases in the opportunistic pathogen P. aeruginosa
Postdoc Mentor: Tania A. Baker
Award Sponsor: Simons Foundation
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Email: jrzhang {at} mit.edu