Early Career Researchers

The NHLBI supports the research training of predoctoral students, postdoctoral trainees or fellows, or recent bachelor's or master's degree graduates. A research supplement program promotes diversity in health-related research.

The Recovery Act has enabled the NHLBI to foster the careers of hundreds of America’s future biomedical leaders while meeting the core objectives of the stimulus package: creating jobs and investing in the future of America’s biomedical research.

Recovery Act Supports New Faculty at Biomedical Core Centers

The NHLBI has invested Recovery Act funds to help institutions across the country hire promising new scientists.  The early career years — directly after training — are a pivotal time when securing funding can be the deciding factor in whether a researcher stays in science. Through grants funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), the NIH and the NHLBI are supporting America’s next generation of scientists by providing institutions with funding to hire new faculty to augment or expand their biomedical research efforts. These biomedical core centers focus on areas of research relevant to the NIH. The grants provide institutions with the resources needed to help new faculty launch their careers while also enabling the institutions to develop pilot research projects.

In September 2009, the NHLBI awarded more than $20 million in P30 grants to 35 institutions in 20 states to support heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related research. Institutions match the two-year P30 grants with two additional years of funding, providing a healthy, four-year seed time for new faculty members to establish their research program.

Meet some of these new faculty members:

Nadia Ahmad, Ph.D. Research Scientist, Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Improvement of Communication Process and Outcomes after Newborn Genetic Screening Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Blood Diseases Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $336,885 More information about the grant

Jaehyung "Gus" Cho, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Intravital Microscopy for Development and Therapy of Vascular Diseases Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $626,847 More information about the grant

Viviana Ferreira, D.V.M., Ph.D. Assistant Professor on Tenure Track, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio The Role of Complement Proteins in Cardiovascular Disease Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $655,023 More information about the grant

Lie Gao, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska Support for the recruit of a tenure track faculty member, Lie Gao, M.D., Ph.D. Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $556,414 More information about the grant

Anthony N. Gerber, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado Fostering Collaborations and the Career of a Newly Recruited Pulmonary Scientist Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $633,498 More information about the grant

Nikki Jernigan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico Building Core Programs in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $600,210 More information about the grant Additional Funding: Building Core Programs in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2010 Recovery Act Funding: $491,265 More information about the grant Total funding: $1,091,475

Kristen Knutson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois New Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Sleep Disorders Research Program Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $616,348 More information about the grant

Anna P. Lam, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois Recruitment of New Faculty to Enhance Research in Lung Biology Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $440,700 More information about the grant

Jayaraj Rajagopal, M.D. Pulmonologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts Center for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) Support for New Faculty Member Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $715,076 More information about the grant

Sara Roedl, A.B.D. Research Scientist, Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin A Rapid-Throughout Feedback Intervention for Population-Scale Communication Quality Assurance Projects Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Blood Diseases Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $499,940

Eric Schmidt, M.D. Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado Molecular Physiology Core Applied to Acute Lung Injury Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Heart Development and Structural Diseases Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $527,802 More information about the grant

Bryan J. Williams, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota Supporting New Faculty Recruitment through Biomedical Research Core Center Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $578,335 More information about the grant

Scott Witting, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana New Faculty Recruitment to the Indiana University Gene Therapy Program Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Blood Diseases Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $407,810 More information about the grant

Lei Yang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and Director, Stem Cell Core, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Faculty Recruitment and Core Resource Development in Stem Cell Biology Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapeutics Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $660,467 More information about the grant

Last Updated: March 16, 2010