The Hartwell Foundation

 

2021 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards

Memphis, TN, April 01, 2022 - The Hartwell Foundation officially announced today the recipients of the 2021 Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards. Each Award provides support for three years at $100,000 direct cost per year. Ten individuals representing eight institutions received recognition as Hartwell Investigators:

  • Andrew P. Landstrom, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Pediatrics, Duke University for "Modulation of a Critical Cell Signal Transduction Pathway as a Treatment for Arrhythmic Cardiomyopathy."
  • Jason R. Cantor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison for "Establishing a Physiologic Platform to Uncover Genetic Dependencies in Blood Cancers."
  • Elizabeth J.K. Bhoj, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania for "Epigenetic Diagnosis and Targeted Treatment for Improving Cognitive Outcomes in Neurodevelopmental Disorders."
  • Scott N. Furlan, MD, Assistant Professor Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for "Improved Detection of Relapse in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia Using Single-Cell Genomics."
  • Shannon N. Moonah, MD, - Assistant Professor Medicine, University of Virginia "Engineering Protozoa to Prevent and Treat C. difficile Infection."
  • Jennifer Zuk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Boston University for "Neurobiological Basis of Speech Patterns as a Biomarker for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Early Childhood."
  • David A. Hill, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania for Food-Specific Memory T Cell Responses for "Diagnosis and Monitoring of IgE-Independent Eosinophilic Esophagitis."
  • Katherine A. Kutney, MD, Assistant Professor Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University for "Monitoring the Progression of Diabetic Kidney Disease with Multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging."
  • Mark B. Headley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for "Preserving Lung Function in Premature Infants by Targeting the Immune System."
  • Melody Y. Zeng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Pediatrics, Cornell University for "Harnessing Gut Bacteria to Reduce the Risk of Autism in Infants Exposed to Maternal Antidepressants."

The 2021 award-winning proposals represent early-stage, innovative and cutting-edge technology in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, covering research areas that include Molecular Biology, Cancer, Infectious Disease, Neurobiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Medical Diagnostics, and Physiology. The Hartwell Foundation is pleased to provide financial support to these exceptional scientists who are pursuing biomedical research to advance children’s health.

Each year The Hartwell Foundation invites a limited number of institutions in the United States to hold an internal open competition to nominate candidates from their faculty who are involved in early-stage, innovative, and cutting-edge biomedical research that has not yet qualified for significant funding from outside sources and with the potential to benefit children of the United States. In the 2021 competition, 15 institutions participated. Based upon the Nominees submitted, the Foundation selected 10 researchers from eight different institutions to receive a Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award. Notably, Nominees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center each received two Individual Awards.

"In our 16th year supporting innovative, early-stage biomedical research with the potential to benefit children, the 2021 competition for Individual Biomedical Research Awards once again proved to be exceptional. Nominees who received an Award leveraged internal support and guidance from their participating institution, as well as the experience of previous Hartwell Investigators," said Fred Dombrose, President of The Hartwell Foundation.

While significant early-stage funding benefits the individual researcher, participating Hartwell institutions are eligible to receive recognition in the form of a Hartwell Fellowship. For each Nominee selected for an Individual Biomedical Research Award the sponsoring participating institution receives one Hartwell Fellowship that they are asked to designate to a qualified postdoctoral researcher in the early stage of their career. Each Fellowship provides support for two years at $50,000 direct cost per year to enable specialized training in biomedical research.

"The Hartwell Foundation seeks to inspire innovation and achievement by offering individual researchers an opportunity to realize their professional goals. Our approach is to be unique, selective, thorough, and accountable. We provide an opportunity for those we support to make a difference and to realize their hopes and dreams," said Fred Dombrose, President of The Hartwell Foundation.

In selecting awardees, the Foundation takes into account the compelling and transformative nature of the proposed innovation, the extent to which a strategic or translational approach might accelerate the clinical application of research results to benefit children of the United States, the extent of collaboration in the proposed research, the institutional commitment to provide encouragement and technical support to the investigator, and the extent to which funding the investigator will make a difference.

 

2021 Hartwell Investigator Jennifer Zuk, Ph.D., Boston University

2021 Hartwell Investigator Jennifer Zuk, Ph.D., Boston University


2021 Hartwell Investigator Elizabeth Bhoj, MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

2021 Hartwell Investigator Elizabeth Bhoj, MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania


2021 Hartwell Investigator David Hill , MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

2021 Hartwell Investigator David Hill , MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania


2021 Hartwell Investigator Scott Furlan, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

2021 Hartwell Investigator Scott Furlan, MD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center


2021 Hartwell Investigator Melody Zeng, Cornell University

2021 Hartwell Investigator Melody Zeng, Ph.D., Cornell University


2021 Hartwell Investigator Andrew Landstrom, MD, Ph.D., Duke University

2021 Hartwell Investigator Andrew Landstrom, MD, Ph.D., Duke University


2021 Hartwell Investigator Mark Headley, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

2021 Hartwell Investigator Mark Headley, Ph.D., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center


2021 Hartwell Investigator Shannon Moonah, MD, University of Virginia

2021 Hartwell Investigator Shannon Moonah, MD, University of Virginia


2021 Hartwell Investigator Katherine Kutney, MD, Case Western Reserve University

2021 Hartwell Investigator Katherine Kutney, MD, Case Western Reserve University


2021 Hartwell Investigator Jason Cantor, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

2021 Hartwell Investigator Jason Cantor, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison


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