March 12, 2019
Eight postdoctoral researchers at the University of Washington receive awards from the Washington Research Foundation
Eight researchers at the University of Washington have been named Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows, according to an announcement Feb. 28 by the Washington Research Foundation.
This is the second year for the WRF’s program supporting postdoctoral researchers. An external committee from academia and industry chose the Fellows from a pool of candidates to conduct original research, primarily in the life sciences, at Washington state research institutions. This year’s cohort will research topics in health care, food sustainability and renewable energy, among others.
The WRF will contribute up to $277,500 per Fellow for salary, benefits and expenses during the three-year projects.
The eight WRF Postdoctoral Fellows at the UW for 2019 are:
- Jeremy Baker, who completed a doctoral degree in neuroscience at the University of South Florida, will be developing therapeutics to target aggregative forms of tau, a cellular protein, in order to disrupt progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Baker’s postdoctoral appointment is in the UW School of Medicine.
- Samuel Bryson received a doctoral degree in microbiology from Oregon State University and, as a postdoctoral researcher in the UW College of Engineering, will be studying the physiology and ecology of symbiotic, nitrogen-removing microbial communities to develop more energy-efficient wastewater-treatment processes.
- Joshua Larson, who received a doctoral degree in biophysics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will use fluorescence microscopy and optical-trapping methods to study the mechanisms required for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Larson’s postdoctoral appointment is in the UW School of Medicine.
- Caleb Stoltzfus completed a doctoral degree in physics at Montana State University and will develop analytical tools to study cellular organization and tissue architecture in the UW School of Medicine.
- Levi Todd, who completed a doctoral degree in neuroscience at the Ohio State University, will focus on improving retinal regeneration by modulating the retinal immune system as a postdoctoral researcher in the UW School of Medicine.
- Jue Wang earned a doctoral degree in systems biology at Harvard University and will engineer microbes to produce biofuels using only carbon dioxide and renewable electricity as inputs in the UW College of Engineering and the School of Medicine.
- Alison Weber is completing a doctoral degree in neuroscience at the UW and, as a postdoctoral researcher in the UW College of Arts & Sciences, will investigate how insect nervous systems use limited sensory information from the wings to achieve agile flight control.
- Rachel Welicky, who received a doctoral degree in environmental sciences at Arkansas State University, will assess changes in Puget Sound fishes in the UW College of the Environment.
“The WRF fellowship is allowing me to advance innovative ecological research,” said Welicky. “Museum specimens are an underutilized resource for understanding ecosystems of the past, so I am using UW’s vast fish collection to investigate how the food web interactions and human nutritional value of Puget Sound fishes have changed over the last century.”
An additional two WRF Postdoctoral Fellows are at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
“WRF is focused on impact,” said Ron Howell, CEO of the WRF. “We want our grant-making to provide maximum benefit for the public, and the WRF Postdoctoral Fellows are selected for their brilliance, capabilities and their drive to have impact. We’re pleased to support these ambitious researchers in their efforts to make a difference.”
The WRF Postdoctoral Fellowship program funds up to 10 new researchers each year. The application for Fellowships beginning in 2020 will be available on the WRF’s website starting on April 22, 2019.
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Adapted from a release by the Washington Research Foundation.
Tag(s): College of Arts & Sciences • College of Engineering • College of the Environment • School of Medicine
