Pew Announces 21 New Biomedical Scholars

PHILADELPHIA, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pew Charitable Trusts today announced the 21 researchers joining the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. These early-career scientists will receive four years of funding to explore cutting-edge research uncovering insights into human health and disease.

"For more than 40 years, Pew has proudly supported researchers pioneering approaches to help advance human health and medicine," said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew's senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. "This incoming class of biomedical scholars bridges new technologies with creative approaches to biomedical research, and we're thrilled to support their innovative work."

This year's class of early-career, junior faculty joins a legacy of more than 1,000 scientists who have received awards from Pew since 1985. During their time as scholars, they will have opportunities to meet annually with fellow Pew-funded scientists to forge connections and cultivate community across a wide variety of disciplines.

"Scientific discovery is moving at a rapid pace, and now more than ever we need curious and creative researchers leading the charge," said Lee Niswander, Ph.D., a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program's national advisory committee. "These new biomedical scholars are prepared to meet that challenge, and I look forward to watching their research unfold."

Scholars were chosen from 211 applicants nominated by leading academic institutions and researchers throughout the United States. This year's class includes scientists who are harnessing new technology to examine human health and behavior, studying the building blocks of immunity, and engineering new methods to protect and treat disease.

Four members of the 2026 class, who were selected for their commitment to investigating health challenges relating to the brain as it ages, will receive awards with support from the Kathryn W. Davis Peace by Pieces Fund.

The 2026 Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences are:

Corey Allard, Ph.D.
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Allard will explore how some sea slugs turn to thievery to gain new abilities by swiping subcellular structures from their prey.

Vineet Augustine, Ph.D.
University of California San Diego
Dr. Augustine will investigate how the heart communicates with both the brain and immune system following a heart attack.

Navid Bavi, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Bavi will examine how sensory membrane proteins in specialized ear cells boost sound sensitivity.

Steve L. Bonilla, Ph.D.
The Rockefeller University
Dr. Bonilla will investigate how RNA molecules fold into three-dimensional structures to drive complex biological processes.

Gianni Castiglione, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Dr. Castiglione will investigate the molecular systems that protect retinal cells from damage.

Andrew Flyak, Ph.D.
Cornell University
Dr. Flyak aims to design an effective vaccine against the hepatitis C virus.

Xin Gu, Ph.D.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Harvard Medical School
Dr. Gu will study a novel pathway that cells use to selectively degrade proteins that regulate gene activity.

Osama Harraz, Ph.D.
Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Dr. Harraz will study the mechanisms that protect naked mole rats against neurodegeneration.

Whitney Henry, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Henry will examine how a stress-induced cell-death program called ferroptosis contributes to injury and regeneration in the liver.

Thanh Hoang, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Dr. Hoang will explore how to regenerate functional neurons from astrocytes—abundant support cells in the brain.

Magnus Hoffmann, M.Pharm., Ph.D.
Gladstone Institutes
Dr. Hoffmann aims to develop a cancer vaccine approach that tricks tumor cells into stimulating the immune system to eliminate them.

Katherine Hummels, Ph.D.
University of Georgia
Dr. Hummels will characterize the molecular mechanisms that govern the assembly of the bacterial cell envelope.

Maya Kaelberer, Ph.D.
University of Arizona
Dr. Kaelberer will explore how maternal diets can lead offspring to a lifelong craving for sugary foods.

Andrew Monteith, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Dr. Monteith will study how elevated temperatures enhance immune function and the elimination of infection.

Ian Oldenburg, Ph.D.
Rutgers University
Dr. Oldenburg will explore the rules that govern how neuronal activity produces movement.

Michael Skinnider, M.D., Ph.D.
Princeton University
Dr. Skinnider will train artificial intelligence to characterize the "dark matter" of the human metabolome.

Sergey Stavisky, Ph.D.
University of California, Davis
Dr. Stavisky will dissect how the brain encodes speech and language, with the goal of designing prosthetic devices to facilitate communication.

Christina Tringides, Ph.D.
Rice University
Dr. Tringides will characterize the molecular and mechanical signals that promote the growth of glioblastoma, a primary brain cancer in adults.

Jessalyn Ubellacker, M.D., Ph.D.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Ubellacker will research how lymph nodes offer a protective environment for metastatic cancer cells that can foster progression.

Harikesh Wong, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ragon Institute
Dr. Wong will investigate how groups of immune cells come to a "communal decision" about whether to tolerate or attack a particular target.

Meng Wu, Ph.D.
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dr. Wu will research how early-life exposure to beneficial microbes programs the body's tissue-building fibroblast cells to enhance immunity and tissue integrity.

Founded in 1948, The Pew Charitable Trusts uses data to make a difference. Pew addresses the challenges of a changing world by illuminating issues, creating common ground, and advancing ambitious projects that lead to tangible progress.

Contact:
Erin Davis
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts