August 2011
LSRF AWARDS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
The Life Sciences Research Foundation is pleased to announce recipients of three-year
postdoctoral fellowships who will begin their training August 2011. The awards are the twentyeight to be made by the Foundation, which was organized in 1981 as an alternative instrument
for guiding monies from industry, foundations, agencies, and other donors to the non-targeted
support of outstanding young scientists. The awardees were chosen by the Foundation's Peer
Review Committee from about 800 applicants. Each recipient will work at a non-profit
institution of his or her choice, and each will be identified as the individual recipient of support
from one of the Foundation's Sponsors.
The recipients, their institutional affiliations, and the sponsoring donors, were announced
by the Foundation's President, Donald D. Brown and Vice-President, Douglas Koshland as
follows:
Justin Ashworth, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellow:
Proposal entitled "Molecular mechanisms to describe how regulatory genetic diversity drives
systems-level cellular physiology", Institute for Systems Biology, laboratory of Nitin S. Baliga.
Dr. Ashworth received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Hoo Sun Chung, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Novel master transcriptional repressors of innate immunity”, Massachusetts
General Hospital - Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Jen Sheen. Dr. Chung received her
Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
Dr. Julio Cordero, Lilly Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Mechanisms of TRPA1 activation/modulation by inflammatory agents”,
University of California – San Francisco, laboratory of David Julius. Dr. Cordero received his
Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Magdia De Jesus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Uptake and presentation of secretory IgA (SigA) immune complexes by
mucosal dendritic cells”, Wadsworth Center - New York State Department of Health,
laboratory of Nicholas Mantis. Dr. De Jesus received her Ph.D. from the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine.
Dr. Ylli Doksani, Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Structural analysis of mammalian telomeres with super-resolution
microscopy”, Rockefeller University, laboratory of Titia de Lange. Dr. Doksani received his
Ph.D. from the Open University – United Kingdom.
Dr. Jinju Han, The Salk Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Noncoding RNAs in adult neurogenesis”, Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, laboratory of Fred H. Gage. Dr. Han received her Ph.D. from Seoul National
University.
Dr. Cara Haney, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Identification of plant genes required for secretion of antimicrobial
compounds in response to rhizosphere bacteria”, Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard
Medical School, laboratory of Fred Ausubel. Dr. Haney received her Ph.D. from Stanford
University.
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Dr. Wenqian Hu, Merck Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Cell fate determination of hematopoietic progenitor cells”, whitehead
Institute for Biomedical Research, laboratory of Harvey Lodish. Dr. Hu received his Ph.D.
from Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Karen Litwa, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “RhoGTPases act through myosin to shape dendritic spines and PSD
organization”, University of Virginia, laboratory of Alan Rick Horwitz. Dr. Litwa received her
Ph.D. from Emory University.
Dr. Cora MacAlister, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Molecular dynamics of meristem reiteration in tomato”, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory, laboratory of Zachary Lippman. Dr. MacAlister received her Ph.D. from Stanford
University.
Dr. Babak Momeni, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Spatial patterning in multicellular microbial communities”, Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center, laboratory of Wenying Shou. Dr. Momeni received his Ph.D. from
Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Gautham Nair, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Time-keeping in the transcriptional cascades of the developing C. elegans
embryo”, University of Pennsylvania, laboratory of Arjun Raj. Dr. Nair received his Ph.D.
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Jacqueline Perrigoue, Merck Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Translational control of stress responses by Rpl22 in intestinal inflammation
and cancer”, Fox Chase Cancer Center, laboratory of David Wiest. Dr. Perrigoue received her
Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. David Plachetzki, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Unraveling the molecular basis of allorecognition in a colonial hydrozoan
using transcriptional profiling”, University of California – Davis, laboratory of Rick Grosberg.
Dr. Plachetzki received his Ph.D. from the University of California – Santa Barbara.
Dr. George Poulogiannis, Pfizer Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Defining the genetic and molecular circuitry of the growth-triggering TOR
pathway”, Beth Israel – Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Lewis Cantley. Dr.
Poulogiannis received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.
Dr. Yan Qi, Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Identification of genes that regulate xenobiotic stress response in C.
elegans”, Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Gary
Ruvkun. Dr. Qi received her Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Dr. Selena Sagan, Amgen Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Investigating a protective role for miR-122 in the life cycle of Hepatitis C
virus”, Stanford University, laboratory of Peter Sarnow. Dr. Sagan received her Ph.D. from the
University of Ottawa.
Dr. Zhe Sha, Novartis Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Autophagy via p62 and GABARAPL1 is an adaptive response to
proteasome inhibition”, Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Alfred L. Goldberg. Dr. Sha
received his Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Maija Slaidina, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
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Proposal entitled “Cell-to-cell variability and cell fate: germline stem cell fate predetermination
in Drosophila pole cells”, New York University – Skirball Institute, laboratory of Ruth
Lehmann. Dr. Slaidina received her Ph.D. from the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis.
Dr. Aaron Stephan, Department of Energy-Division of Biosciences Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Genetic analysis of Ca2+ priming in Arabidopsis guard cell stomatal closure
in response to the drought hormone Abscisic Acid”, University of California – San Diego,
laboratory of Julian I. Schroeder. Dr. Stephan received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins
University.
Dr. Esteban Toro, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “In vitro systems that recapitulate cardiovascular development”, University of
Pennsylvania, laboratory of Christopher Chen. Dr. Toro received his Ph.D. from Stanford
University.
Dr. Feng Wang, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Understanding the contributions of specificity elements and histone
modifications to epigenetic inheritance”, Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Danesh
Moazed. Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Xin Wang, Pfizer Fellow:
Proposal entitled “A joint experimental/computational study of how inhibitory neural circuits
control network dynamics in normal and schizophrenic brain”, Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, laboratory of Terrence J. Sejnowski. Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. from the University
of Southern California.
Dr. J. Bradley Zuchero, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow:
Proposal entitled “Identification of the astrocyte-derived signal for myelination in the CNS”,
Stanford University, laboratory of Ben Barres. Dr. Zuchero received his Ph.D. from the
University of California – San Francisco.
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