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Allen Distinguished Investigators
The Allen Distinguished Investigator program supports early-stage research with the potential to reinvent entire fields.
With grants between $1 million and $1.5 million to individuals and scientific teams, these researchers receive enough funding to produce momentum in their respective fields.
Allen Distinguished Investigators are passionate thought leaders, explorers, and innovators who seek world-changing breakthroughs. Their ideas are transformative and their scientific insights are game-changing. They share a pioneering spirit, the ability to imagine possible futures of science, and the ability to create new ways of thinking to share with the world.
Talent is everywhere. Allen Distinguished Investigators may come from small universities or large institutions, cities, or towns across the world. We explore the landscape of bioscience to identify distinguished leaders who will make a difference.
2024 Allen Distinguished Investigators
Anđela Šarić, Ph.D
Kerstin Göpfrich, Ph.D.
Buzz Baum, Ph.D.
Alba Diz-Muñoz, Ph.D.
Carsten Schultz, Ph.D.
Amy Rowat, Ph.D.
Douglas Robinson, Ph.D.
Ileana M. Cristea, Ph.D.
Jared Toettcher, Ph.D.
Itay Budin, Ph.D.
Christopher Obara
Sarah Cohen, Ph.D.
Assaf Zaritsky, Ph.D.
Shalin Mehta, Ph.D.
2024 Cohorts
Membrane Biophysics
Researchers in this cohort will focus on cellular membranes that separate cell contents from the surrounding environment, allow cells to change shape, exchange materials, and respond to their environment. Despite having been implicated in numerous human diseases, little is known about the principles governing cell membrane biology and biophysics. This cohort will expand the frontiers of our understanding of fundamental aspects of cell membrane form, function, and dynamics using innovative technologies and analytical frameworks, with important implications for basic science and human health.
Projects:
- Mechanobiology tools for dissecting drivers of membrane mechanics, form, and function Blood-brain Barrier communication via extracellular vesicles underlying brain function and behavior
- David and Goliath at the cell surface: Photo-crosslinkable lipid derivatives to control membrane mechanics
- Chemically active membranes in the generation of cell shape
Organelle Communication
Researchers in this cohort will explore a thrilling frontier in cell biology emerging from the discovery that organelles (cellular compartments) can directly connect to each other to exchange materials and information, forming complex and dynamic networks. Much of how these interactions occur remains unknown due to the profound challenges of observing rapid events on a nanometer scale. This cohort will pioneer new tools to directly observe and model the organelle ‘interactome’ across time, space, and cell type. Their findings will expand our understanding of core biological principles, with powerful implications for fields ranging from regenerative medicine to virology.
Projects:
- Data-driven modeling of inter-organelle dynamic interactions throughout differentiation with multispectral and label free live imaging
- Intra- and inter-cellular communication driven by membrane contact sites within a virus microenvironment
- Measuring lipid fluxes at membrane contact sites using new chemogenetic proximity sensors
2023 Allen Distinguished Investigators
Elham Azizi, Ph.D.
Marni D. Boppart, Sc.D.
Stephen A. Boppart, M.D., Ph.D.
Andrew Chisholm, Ph.D.
Ada Cheung, Ph.D.
Stephanie Correa, Ph.D.
Rachel Davey, Ph.D.
Annegret L. Falkner, Ph.D.
Shinichi Kano, M.D., Ph.D.
José L. McFaline-Figueroa, Ph.D.
Musa M. Mhlanga, Ph.D.
Boris Novakovic
Mijo Simunovic, Ph.D.
Ed van Veen, Ph.D.
Wyatt N. Vreeland, Ph.D.
Ann Wehman, Ph.D.
Kenneth Witwer, Ph.D.
Angela M. Zivkovic, Ph.D.
2023 Cohorts
Extracellular Vesicles
Extracellular vesicles hold huge promise as a means of therapeutic delivery; however, their diversity and a lack of understanding of their basic biology are hindering progress. This cohort seeks to elucidate fundamental principles of the biology of extracellular vesicles in a variety of contexts, including the development of technologies to better visualize and track them in living organisms.
Projects:
- Composition and functionality of the EV corona: learning from lipoproteins
- Blood-brain Barrier communication via extracellular vesicles underlying brain function and behavior
- Extracellular vesicles in maintenance of neuronal circuitry
- Real-time label-free dynamic imaging of extracellular vesicles in live tissues
Sex Hormones
Researchers in this cohort are uncovering the cellular and molecular actions of sex hormones outside of reproduction and reproduction-related development. Their work addresses a key need to deepen our understanding of how sex hormones affect many of biological processes. These new discoveries have the potential to impact human health, including diagnostics and treatment.
2022 Allen Distinguished Investigators
Alexander Aulehla, M.D., Ph.D.
Abhishek Chatterjee, Ph.D.
Tim Clausen, Ph.D.
Alf Honigmann, Ph.D.
Meritxell Huch, Ph.D.
Janine Kirstein, Ph.D.
Lydia Kisley, Ph.D.
Yi Lu, Ph.D.
Gary CH Mo, Ph.D.
Niculina Musat, Ph.D.
André Nadler, Ph.D.
Laura Sanchez, Ph.D.
Mikhail Savitski, Ph.D.
Bilal Sheikh, Ph.D.
Hryhoriy Stryhanyuk, Ph.D.
Eranthie Weerapana, Ph.D.
2022 Cohorts
Nutrient Sensing
Researchers in this cohort are developing new technologies to measure or visualize nutrient levels within cells. Their work addresses a key need in the field, namely the ability to capture detailed information about metabolites, chemical compounds, and other nutrients in live individual cells. These new techniques could propel understanding of the basic biology of cells as well as how metabolism or nutrition processing goes wrong in diseases like diabetes or malnutrition.
Protein Lifespan
Proteins are the building blocks of life — nearly all cellular structures and processes are built and carried out by proteins. Do our proteins age like our bodies age? While scientists have discovered how cells turn over old proteins to create new forms, it’s not clear how lifespan varies among different kinds of proteins, what it means to have “old” proteins, or how the cellular environment could affect protein aging. Researchers in this cohort are building new technologies and designing experiments to address important questions around protein lifespan and aging.
Projects:
- Controlled labeling of the nascent proteome to track protein lifespan in mammalian cells
- PRO-Watch: an approach to monitor protein lifespan in aging worms
- Precision live single-cell nano-surgery for revealing proteome dynamics
- Aging proteins: biology or chemistry? Systematic characterization of young and old proteins in vivo
2021 Allen Distinguished Investigators
Michael Bassik, Ph.D.
Ami Bhatt, M.D., Ph.D.
Grace Chen, Ph.D.
Joe Craft, Ph.D.
Robyn Crook, Ph.D.
Mandë Holford, Ph.D.
Livnat Jerby, Ph.D.
Darrell Kotton, Ph.D.
Pulin Li, Ph.D.
Mark Q. Martindale, Ph.D.
Christopher S. Chen
Josef Penninger, Ph.D.
Lucia Prieto-Godino, Ph.D.
Adrian Ranga, Ph.D.
Sam Rodriques, Ph.D.
Joseph F. Ryan, Ph.D.
Nika Shakiba, Ph.D.
Sarah Slavoff, Ph.D.
Kelly Stevens, Ph.D.
James Strother, Ph.D.
Wilson Wong, Ph.D.
Nozomu Yachi, Ph.D.
Li Zhao, Ph.D.
2021 Cohorts
Neural Circuit Design
Researchers in the Neural Circuit Design cohort are studying evolutionary principles in the brain circuits that control movement, focusing on animals and systems that are not traditionally studied in the laboratory. Their studies will flesh out a more complete picture of the diversity of nervous systems and motor neural circuits in the animal kingdom, as well as pinpointing common and conserved principles of motion and motor control.
Micropeptides
Our genomes contain vast amounts of DNA that remain poorly understood. A recent arrival on the scene of genomic “dark matter”: micropeptides, tiny proteins coded by tiny genes that had long escaped notice due to their size but that appear to be present in large numbers in our genome and that of every other living thing. These small molecules likely play roles in many different biological processes; scientists are recently uncovering their influence in several different diseases and in the function of the immune system. Scientists in the Micropeptides cohort are shedding new light on how micropeptides influence immunology, in health and in disease.
Mammalian Synthetic Development
The field of synthetic biology has made incredible advances in recent years, and yet the complexity of mammalian biology presents an additional challenge for scientists aiming to engineer tissue or organoids in the lab. The investigators in the Mammalian Synthetic Development cohort are working to cross many of the barriers to mammalian synthetic biology, including several approaches to improve the development and engineering of organoids, lab-grown mini-organs typically derived from human stem cells. Their work spans many parts of the human body, including the liver, lungs, brain, and connective tissues.
Projects:
- Engineering the stromal secretome to program organ development and maturation
- Actuoids: guided tissue morphogenesis using soft actuation
- Mid-terminal human synthetic liver organogenesis
- Engineering branching networks through synthetic turing morphogen circuits
- A fate-mapped human pluripotent stem cell library for designer organoids
Past Allen Distinguished Investigators
The Allen Distinguished Investigator program was launched in 2010 by the late philanthropist Paul G. Allen to back creative, early-stage research projects in biology and medical research that would not otherwise be supported by traditional research funding programs. A total of 130 Allen Distinguished Investigators have been appointed during the past 12 years. Each award spans three years of research funding.
Meet past investigators.
Cell Nucleus Cohort
In vivo analysis of nuclear mechanics and mechanotransduction
- G.W. Gant Luxton, Ph.D. | University of California, Davis
- Daniel Starr, Ph.D. | University of California, Davis
Nuclear-endoplasmic reticulum communication during normal remodeling and pathological alteration of these organelles
- Maho Niwa, Ph.D. | University of California San Diego
- Katharine Ullman, Ph.D. | University of Utah
New models for nuclear homeostasis: integrating force, flow and pressure
- Megan King, Ph.D. | Yale University
- Simon Mochrie, Ph.D. | Yale University
Immunometabolism Cohort
Decoding the 3D immuno-metabolic circuitry
- Will Bailis, Ph.D. | University of Pennsylvania
- Chris Bennett, M.D. | University of Pennsylvania
- Ruaidhri Jackson, Ph.D. | Harvard Medical School
Distinct immune-metabolic niches in inflammatory bowel disease
- Aida Habtezion, M.D., MSc FRCPC | Stanford University
- Nandita Garud, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
- Carolina Tropini, Ph.D. | University of British Columbia
Defining infection-induced metabolic reprogramming: from cells to systems
- Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D. | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Russell Jones, Ph.D. | Van Andel Institute
Bioluminescent tools for noninvasive, real-time imaging of immunometabolism
- Michelle Digman, Ph.D. | University of California, Irvine
- Jennifer Prescher, Ph.D. | University of California, Irvine
2019 Expansion Cohort
Early manifestations of subcellular defects in neurodegenerative diseases
- Gene Yeo, Ph.D, MBA | University of California San Diego
Tracking proteome dynamics in single cells
- Nikolai Slavov, Ph.D. | Northeastern University
Spatial Single-Cell Technologies Cohort
Spatially-resolved proteomic mapping of complex tissues at the single cell level
- Savas Tay, Ph.D. | University of Chicago
Quantitative, spatially-resolved analysis of tissue metabolism
- Joshua Rabinowitz, Ph.D. | Princeton University
Disease Models Cohort
Reading and writing cell histories: New genomic technologies to unlock cell programming
- Samantha Morris, Ph.D. | Washington University in St. Louis
Simulating the Gut-Brain Axis using iPSC and Organ-Chip Technology: a New Model of Parkinson’s Disease
- Clive Svendsen, Ph.D. | Cedars-Sinai
Human iPSC Models of Metabolic and Digestive Diseases
- James Wells, Ph.D. | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
2018 Curated ADI Cohort
Unmasking and Exploiting Astrocyte Biology
- Baljit S. Khakh, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
Reverse engineering of biological circuits underlying aging and development
- Marc Kirschner, Ph.D. | Harvard Medical School
Nuclear Biophysics Cohort
Nuclear Organization Through Phase Separation: Mechanisms, Functions and Disease
- Michael Rosen, Ph.D. | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Nuclear Organization Through Phase Separation: Mechanisms, Functions and Disease
- Clodagh O’Shea, Ph.D. | Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Lymphoma Cohort
Developing in situ programming of CAR T-cells for clinical use in lymphoma patients
- Matthias Stephan, M.D., Ph.D. | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington
Defining Vulnerabilities of MRD
- David Weinstock, M.D. | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Scott Manalis, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The microenvironment architecture and ecosystem of Hodgkin lymphoma
- Christian Steidl, M.D. | BC Cancer Research Centre and the University of British Columbia
Neuroimmune Cohort
Brain vasculature at the neuro-immune interface
- Chenghua Gu, Ph.D. | Harvard Medical School
Deciphering peripheral neuroimmune architecture by intercellular labelling
- Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, D.V.M., Ph.D. | Champalimaud Foundation
Curated 2017 ADI Cohort
Universal Epigenetic Aging Clock
- Steve Horvath, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
Real Time Evolution and Gene Flows
- Rachel Whitaker, Ph.D. | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
AHA ADI Cohort
Information Storage and Retrieval in the Cardiac Extracellular Matrix
- Jeffrey Holmes, M.D., Ph.D. | University of Virginia
Forward and reverse degradomics of cardiovascular extracellular matrix
- Suneel Apte, M.B.B.S., D. Phil. | Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Epigenetics Cohort
Multi-modal Visualization of the Dynamic Epigenome
- Fei Chen, Ph.D. | Broad Institute
- Jason Buenrostro, Ph.D. | Broad Institute and Harvard University
Systematic mapping of epigenetic marks to the 3D architecture of the human genome in single cells.
- Jan Ellenberg, Ph.D. | European Molecular Biology Laboratory
- Ralf Jungmann, Ph.D. | Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and LMU Munich
Epigenome Editing Technologies for Cell Programming
- Charles A. Gersbach, Ph.D. | Duke University
Curated ADI Cohort
How developmental noise in neural circuit development determines the unique behavior of individuals
- Bassem Hassan, Ph.D. | Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM)
Synthetic biology approaches to antimicrobial resistance
- James J. Collins, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Anti-viral Machinery and Cell Editing Platforms
- Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D. | University of California, Berkeley
Biological Innovation and Active Genetics
- Ethan Bier, Ph.D. | University of California, San Diego
Neuronal Maturation Cohort
“Flight Data” Recorder, Checkpoint Timing, Hodaptics, and Growth Cone Independence
- Jeffrey Macklis, M.D., D.HST | Harvard University
Genome-Scale Technologies for Reverse-Engineering Transcriptional Logics Underlying Cell Fate Specification
- Feng Zhang, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Identifying and Inducing Hallmarks of Maturity in Human Neurons
- William Lowry, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
- Kathrin Plath, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
Transcriptomic and epigenetic acceleration of neuronal maturation and aging
- Daniel Geschwind, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
- Steve Horvath, Ph.D. | University of California, Los Angeles
Matching Regional Diversity with Function: Unique Astrocyte Signals Mature Regionally Matched Neurons
- Erik Ullian, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
- David Rowitch, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
Using miRNAs to Accelerate in vitro Circuit Maturation in 3D Neural Structures from ESCs
- Thomas Reh, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Rachel Wong, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Fred Rieke, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Alzheimer’s Cohort
Mapping glymphatic pathway function in the human brain: Detecting glio-vascular changes that slow amyloid β clearance from the aging brain
- Jeffrey Iliff, Ph.D. | University of Washington School of Medicine & VA Puget Sound
- William Rooney, Ph.D. | Oregon Health & Science University
Resolving white matter dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease with novel biosensors
- Ragnhildur Thóra Káradóttir, Ph.D. | University of Cambridge
Systematic elucidation of cellular networks controlling proteinopathy in Alzheimer’s disease
- Michael Keiser, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
- Martin Kampmann, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
- David Kokel, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
Human age-equivalent directly induced neurons to study functional phenotypes of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Fred “Rusty” Gage, Ph.D. | Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Dysregulation of pH dynamics in Alzheimer Disease Pathogenesis
- Aimee Kao, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
Lineage Barcode Cohort
Tracking cell fate decisions in single cells
- Michael Elowitz, Ph.D. | California Institute of Technology
- Long Cai, Ph.D. | California Institute of Technology
Protein-Based Barcodes for Mapping B Cell Differentiation at High Resolution
- Neil Kelleher, Ph.D. | Northwestern University
Cell lineage Defined by Mitotic Recombination
- Marshall Horwitz, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Jay Shendure, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Cell Decision Making and Modeling Cohort
Crowd Computing with Bacteria: Balancing Phenotypic Diversity and Coordinated Behavior
- Thierry Emonet, Ph.D. | Yale University
- Steven Zucker, Ph.D. | Yale University
- Tom Shimizu, Ph.D. | FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF)
Microbial Studies of Cellular Decision-Making: Game Theory and the Evolutionary Origins of Cooperation
- Jeff Gore, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cell-Size Control and Its Evolution at the Single-Cell Level
- Suckjoon Jun, Ph.D. | University of California, San Diego
Untangling the Wires: an Integrated Framework for Probing Signal Encoding and Decoding in Cellular Circuits
- Hana El-Samad, Ph.D. | University of California, San Francisco
Towards Whole-Cell Models of Higher Organisms
- Markus Covert, Ph.D. | Stanford University
Human Accelerated Regions Cohort
Genetic Mutation of HARs and Human Neurocognition
- Evan Eichler, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Analysis of Positively Selected Genetic Changes Unique to Modern Humans
- Svante Pääbo, Ph.D. | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Molecular and Genetic Analysis of Human Brain Evolution
- Christopher Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. | Harvard University
UW Brain-Computer Spinal Interface Cohort
Development of a Brain-Computer-Spinal Interface
- Chet Moritz, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Adrienne Fairhall, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Joshua Smith, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Botswana-Lymphoma Cohort
Redefining Lymphoma Characterization, Assessment, and Development of Protocols for Treatment
- Bruce Chabner, Ph.D. | Massachusetts General Hospital
Genetic Identification of Attack Neurons in the Mouse
- David Anderson, Ph.D. | California Institute of Technology
Evaluating Connectomes Using Measures of Complexity and Synergy
- Christof Koch, Ph.D. | California Institute of Technology
Sequencing the Connectome
- Tony Zador, Ph.D. | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Massively-Parallel, Three-Dimensional, Circuitwide Recording of Neural Activity
- Ed Boyden, Ph.D. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ethomics: A Technology-Driven Approach to Study the Genetic and Neural Basis of Behavior
- Michael Dickinson, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Reprogramming Cells with Plant-Derived Signaling Pathways
- Jennifer Nemhauser, Ph.D. | University of Washington
- Eric Klavins, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Massively Parallel Brain Imaging in Mouse Models of Human Brain Disease
- Mark Schnitzer, Ph.D. | Stanford University