Two UC Berkeley computational biology and neuroscience scholars received the New Innovator Award from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the agency announced today.
The prestigious award supports especially creative, high-impact biomedical and behavioral research by early-career investigators. Assistant professors Bronwyn Lucas and Preeya Khanna will each receive $1.5 million over multiple years to fund their work improving scientists’ understanding of disease causes and therapies to repair individuals’ motor functions.
This award is part of the High-Risk, High-Reward program (HRHR) at NIH, which supports unconventional, impactful research by researchers at any career stage.
“The HRHR program champions exceptionally bold and innovative science that pushes the boundaries of biomedical and behavioral research,” said Tara A. Schwetz, NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, in the award announcement. “The groundbreaking science pursued by these researchers is poised to have a broad impact on human health.”
Lucas will develop new algorithms to visualize proteins in the cell using cryogenic electron microscopy, a technique that enables scientists to determine the 3D structure of a molecule. Developing more sensitive tools to examine proteins in their cellular context will shed light on how isolated proteins “come together to carry out all of the functions of a cell,” she said.
“It is very difficult to predict how a mutation might cause disease at the molecular level and why mutations in very different proteins might produce the same disease,” said Lucas, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and a principal investigator at the Center for Computational Biology. “To understand the molecular mechanisms of disease, context is everything.”
Khanna will study how different parts of the brain collaborate to “control precise movements, like handling objects” and will develop stimulation techniques that aim to boost neural communication across these areas. Her research could help improve rehabilitation strategies and therapies in individuals with neurological movement diseases, disorders or injuries.
“Somatosensory-motor integration is impaired in many types of neurological movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, essential tremor, and dystonia,” said Khanna, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and the Department of Neuroscience. “Therapeutic approaches building on this work could improve quality of life for individuals with impaired motor function, helping them regain independence and perform everyday tasks more easily.”
Both scholars expressed gratitude for the award. Lucas said it would enable her group to tackle impactful projects that conventional funding mechanisms wouldn’t support. Khanna, who is also a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, said this privilege is fueling her commitment to her research.
The Center for Computational Biology is housed in the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS) at Berkeley. The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences is shared by CDSS and the College of Engineering.
