NIH Director's New Innovator Award Program

2010 New Innovator Award Recipients

Full descriptions are available for those projects with a released Notice of Grant Award.

Nathalie Y.R. Agar, Ph.D.

Nathalie Y.R. Agar, Ph.D.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Project Title: Real-Time Stereotactic Mass Spectrometry Tissue Analysis for Intraoperative Neurosurgical Guidance


Ritesh Agarwal, Ph.D.

Ritesh Agarwal, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Project Title: Optoelectronic Nanowire Probes for Investigation of Intracellular Processes



Rommie E. Amaro, Ph.D.

Rommie E. Amaro, Ph.D.
University of California, Irvine
Project Title: A Structural Systems Biology Approach to Drug Discovery



Alexei Aravin, Ph.D.

Alexei Aravin, Ph.D.
California Institute of Technology
Project Title: Taming of Small RNA-based Epigenetic Mechanisms



Andrea M. Armani, Ph.D.

Andrea M. Armani, Ph.D.
University of Southern California
Project Title: Ultrasensitive Nanolasers for Epigenetics Investigations



Diana M. Bautista, Ph.D.

Diana M. Bautista, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
Project Title: New Approaches to Identify Molecular Mechanisms of Touch and Pain in Mammals



Lynette S. Cegelski, Ph.D.

Lynette S. Cegelski, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Project Title: Structure, Function, and Disruption of Microbial Amyloid Assembly and Biofilm Formation



Jianjun Cheng, Ph.D.

Jianjun Cheng, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Project Title: Developing Clinically Applicable, Cancer-Targeting Polymeric Nanoconjugates



Neil C. Chi, M.D., Ph.D.

Neil C. Chi, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine
Project Title: Directed Cardiac Cellular Programming: A New Paradigm for Cardiac Regeneration



Adam Ezra Cohen, Ph.D.

Adam Ezra Cohen, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Project Title: Optical Sensing of Voltage, pH, and Small Molecules Using Microbial Rhodopsins



Chengkai Dai, Ph.D.

Chengkai Dai, Ph.D.
The Jackson Laboratory, Maine
Project Title: Role of a Novel Stress Response Mechanism-Genetic Buffering-in Tumor Evolution



Sandeep Robert Datta, M.D., Ph.D.

Sandeep Robert Datta, M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Project Title: Revealing fear: New Methods to Study Neural circuits, Behavior, and Disease



Dino Di Carlo, Ph.D.

Dino Di Carlo, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Project Title: Engineering the Intracellular Micro- and Nanoenvironment



Alexander R. Dunn, Ph.D.

Alexander  R. Dunn, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Project Title: Uncovering New Roles for Mechanical Force in Tissue Development and Extracellular Matrix Remodeling



Conor L. Evans, Ph.D.

Conor L. Evans, Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Project Title: Imaging and Overcoming Hypoxia-Induced Resistance in Metastatic Ovarian Cancer



Brian J. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.

Brian J. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Stanford University
Project Title: Using Components of the Circadian Clock to Regulate Stem Cell Fate Decisions



Michael A. Fischbach, Ph.D.

Michael A. Fischbach, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: Identifying and Characterizing Small Molecules from the Human Microbiome



M. Julia B. Felippe Flamino, D.V.M., Ph.D.

M. Julia B. Felippe Flamino, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Cornelll University College of Veterinary Medicine
Project Title: Epigenetics: A Novel Approach in Primary Immunodeficiencies



Benjamin A. Garcia, Ph.D.

Benjamin A. Garcia, Ph.D.
Princeton University
Project Title: Novel Methodology for Quantitative High-throughput Cancer Epigenetics



Thomas M. Guerrero, M.D., Ph.D.

Thomas M. Guerrero, M.D., Ph.D.
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Project Title: Spatially Accurate Deformable Image Registration for Thoracic CT Application



Monica L. Guzman, Ph.D.

Monica L. Guzman, Ph.D.
Cornell University Weill Medical College
Project Title: Selection of Novel Therapies to Ablate Chemoresistant Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cell



Amy Elizabeth Herr, Ph.D.

Amy Elizabeth Herr, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
Project Title: Towards High Throughput Proteomics: A Micro/nanofluidic Framework for Blotless Western Technology



Julie C. Dunning Hotopp, Ph.D.

Julie C. Dunning Hotopp, Ph.D.
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Project Title: Impact of Bacterial-Animal Lateral Gene Transfer on Human Health



Tony Jun Huang, Ph.D.

Tony Jun Huang, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
Project Title: On-Chip Optofluidic Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope for Early Cancer Detection



Yu Huang, Ph.D.

Yu Huang, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Project Title: Graphene Nanostructures as a New Platform for Ultrasensitive Multiplexed Biologic al Sensors



Michelle Khine, Ph.D.

Michelle Khine, Ph.D.
University of California, Irvine
Project Title: Shrink Induced Manufacturing Platform for Low-Cost Diagnostics



Stavros Lomvardas

Ophir D. Klein, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: An Evolutionary-Developmental Approach to Stem Cells Using Teeth as a Model



Joshua A. Kritzer, Ph.D.

Joshua A. Kritzer, Ph.D.
Tufts University
Project Title: Drugging the Undruggable: Targeting Transcription Factors with Small Cyclic Peptides



Diana J. Laird, Ph.D.

Diana J. Laird, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: Cell Competition in the Developing Mouse Germline



Erin Lavik, Sc.D.

Erin Lavik, Sc.D.
Case Western Reserve University
Project Title: Clinically Translatable Nanotechnology: Hemostasis and Neuroprotection



Jin Hyung Lee, Ph.D.

Jin Hyung Lee, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Project Title: In Vivo Control and Functional Visualization of Stem Cell-Driven CNS Regeneration



Hara Levy, M.D.

Hara Levy, M.D.
Medical College of Wisconsin
Project Title: Integration of Genomics with Genetics - Molecular Phenotypes for CF Lung Disease



Ruth E. Ley, Ph.D.

Ruth E. Ley, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Project Title: Development of Immunization Strategies to Reshape Pathogenic Microbiomes



Minkui Luo, Ph.D.

Minkui Luo, Ph.D.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Project Title: Enzyme-engineering Approaches to Dissect Protein Methylation Profiles



Michael B. Major, Ph.D.

Michael B. Major, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Project Title: Exploitation of Near-Haploid Human Cells for Functional Gene Discovery



John C. March, Ph.D.

John C. March, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Project Title: Engineering Commensal Bacteria as Therapeutic Signal Mediators



Timothy J. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

Timothy J. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Project Title: Dysfunctional Regeneration in Cardiomyopathy: iPS-based Diagnosis and Therapy



Alexander B. Niculescu, M.D., Ph.D.

Alexander B. Niculescu, M.D., Ph.D.
Indiana University School of Medicine
Project Title: Developing Blood Tests for Mood Disorders



Jacquin C. Niles, M.D., Ph.D.

Jacquin C. Niles, M.D., Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Project Title: Engineered Regulated RNA Localization and Transport in Biological Systems



Elizabeth M. Nolan, Ph.D.

Elizabeth M. Nolan, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Project Title: Antibacterial Peptides and Zinc in Innate Immunity and Mammalian Physiology



Manu O. Platt, Ph.D.

Manu O. Platt, Ph.D.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Project Title: Multiscale, Mechanistic, and Predictive Models of Stroke in Sickle Cell Disease



Patrick Seale, Ph.D.

Patrick Seale, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Project Title: Molecular Regulation of Brown Adipose Cell Fate in Somitic Stem Cells



Balaji Sitharaman, Ph.D.

Balaji Sitharaman, Ph.D.
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Project Title: Nanotechnology-based Theranostic Technology for Bone Tissue Engineering



Luke S. Theogarajan, Ph.D.

Luke S. Theogarajan, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Barbara
Project Title: Bio-ionic Neural Interfaces



Budd A. Tucker, Ph.D.

Budd A. Tucker, Ph.D.
The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Project Title: Development of a Cell Replacement Therapy to Treat Retinal Degenerative Blindness



Joseph Wade, Ph.D.

Joseph Wade, Ph.D.
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health / University at Albany, State University of New York
Project Title: Pervasive transcription in bacterial genomes



Lauren A. Weiss, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: Dissecting Epistasis and Pleiotropy in Autism towards Personalized Medicine



Pak Kin Wong, Ph.D.

Pak Kin Wong, Ph.D.
The University of Arizona
Project Title: Mechanoregulation of Tissue Morphogenesis



JerilynChanghuei Yang, Ph.D. A. Timlin

Changhuei Yang, Ph.D.
California Institute of Technology
Project Title: Applications of Time-Reverse Tissue Turbidity Suppression to Improve Biophotonics



Peng Yin, Ph.D.

Peng Yin, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Project Title: Engineering Bioimaging Probes Based on Triggered Molecular Geometry



Xilin Zhao, Ph.D.

Xilin Zhao, Ph.D.
New Jersey Medical School-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Project Title: Anaerobic Shock as a Novel Treatment for Tuberculosis



Sheng Zhong, Ph.D.

Sheng Zhong, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Project Title: Evolutionary Models for Gene Regulatory Networks





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