Howard Hughes Medical Institute Names 25 New Hanna H. Gray Fellows

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has named its newest cohort of Hanna H. Gray Fellows. This year’s class consists of 25 early-career scientists, each of whom will receive up to $1.5 million for as long as eight years to pursue cutting edge science in their respective fields.

Considered one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for young researchers, the fellowships provide funding for young scientists to pursue challenging scientific questions during a period that spans their postdoctoral training under the direction of senior mentors through the transition to their own independent lab as a faculty member.

“HHMI is committed to investing in scientists who dare to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our lifetime,” said HHMI Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Leslie Vosshall, in a news release. “Our Hanna Gray Fellows are not only exceptional scientists, but they are also leaders who have proven their dedication to creating a more inclusive future for science.”

The new cohort (a complete list of which can be found here) includes scientists conducting research in a wide range of areas. For example,

• Maple Adkins-Threats, a postdoc at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, is studying regulators of gastric tissue development, which may ultimately lead to improved treatments for gastric disorders.
• Riley Galton, a postdoc at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, is a geneticist investigating how genetic adaptations by organisms help them respond to their environment.
• Jhullian J. Alston, currently at Boston Children’s Hospital, is investigating how dynamic proteins interact with DNA and other proteins, work that may ultimately help make them better targets for new drug therapies.
• Jim Castellanos is an anesthesiology resident at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and a post doc at Rockefeller University. He is studying the molecular immunology that enables skin stem cells to promote healing.
• Cori Fain, a post doc in the department of pathology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, explores how the body’s past infections can alter the brain’s functioning and potentially accelerate brain aging.
• Grace Liu, a molecular and cell biology post doc at the University of California, Berkeley, is examining how the immune system distinguishes harmless microbes from dangerous pathogens. Her work could lead to new strategies to combat viral transmission and restrain autoimmunity.
• Juliet Mwirigi, a Washington University (St. Louis) post doc, studies the biology of chronic pain in both rodent and human sensory neurons, focusing on evolutionarily shared mechanisms that may ultimately enable better pain medications.
• Julianne Pelaez, a postdoctoral associate in biology at Brandeis University, studies insect gustatory receptors. A better understanding of how insects sense chemicals in their food and their environments could pave the way for preventing the spread of insect-borne infectious diseases.
• Daniela C. Soto, University of California, Santa Barbara, is investigating the genetic basis of human brain evolution by studying human-specific forms of messenger RNA.

Since the program’s inception in 2016, HHMI has committed in excess of $190 million to support more than 140 Hanna H. Gray Fellows. Over 30 of the fellows have now advanced to positions directing their own independent labs.

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The program is named for Hanna Holborn Gray, former chair of the HHMI board of trustees and a former president of the University of Chicago. According to HHMI, during Gray’s tenure, “the Institute made significant changes to its process for selecting the scientists in which it invests, opening its doors to an ever-increasing pool of applicants.”