2025 Awardees
What if female biology makes your brain more vulnerable to neurodegeneration, and we could reduce the risk?
— Investigating the X-linked expression of spermine synthase in Alzheimer’s disease
Principal Investigator: Rong Grace Zhai, Jack Miller Professor
Institution: University of Chicago
Project Type: neurological disease, biomedical research, senior faculty
What if we could fight drug-resistant bacteria with AI-designed nanomaterials?
— Engineering nanoparticle “evolutionary traps” to prevent bacterial resistance
Principal Investigator: Lisa Stabryla, Assistant Professor
Institution: University of Illinois-Chicago
Project Type: infectious disease, biomedical research, junior faculty
What if we rigorously tested whether AI scribes actually help oncologists and patients while saving costs?
— Assessing ambient AI listening tools in oncology clinics
Principal Investigator: Juan Rojas, Assistant Professor
Institution: Rush University
Project Type: cancer, health science, junior faculty
What if proteoforms are the key to better understanding and treating meningioma brain tumors?
— Leveraging advanced proteomics to pioneer brain cancer diagnostics
Principal Investigator: Neil Kelleher, Walter and Mary E. Glass Professor of Molecular Biosciences
Institution: Northwestern University
Project Type: brain cancer, biomedical research, senior faculty