Simons Fellows in Life Sciences

2016 Simons Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation

Scott Behie, Ph.D.
Decoding Microbial Interspecies Interactions for Natural Products Discovery
University of California, Berkeley, laboratory of Matthew Traxler

Tin Chi Solomon Chak, Ph.D. (Expected 6/16)
Genome and social complexity: coevolutionary dynamics of genome size and eusociality
Columbia University, laboratory of Dustin R. Rubenstein

Romain Darnajoux, Ph.D.
Deciphering the genomic and metabolic heterogeneity of biological nitrogen fixation in boreal ecosystems
Duke University, laboratory of Francois Lutzoni

Sarah Davies, Ph.D.
Investigating the ‘weak link’ paradigm: Can hosts regulate their symbiont’s environment to buffer the effects of climate change?
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, laboratories of Karl Castillo and Adrian Marchetti

Michele LeRoux, Ph.D.
Investigating the role of toxin-antitoxin systems in bacterial persistence
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, laboratory of Michael Laub

Hoong Chuin Lim, Ph.D.
Unraveling the Mycobacterial envelope biogenesis using Corynebacterium glutamicum as a model organism
Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Thomas Bernhardt

Longfei Shu, Ph.D.
Proto-farming and the carried microbiome in a social amoeba
Washington University in St. Louis, laboratory of David C. Queller

2016 Simons Fellows of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation

Lihui Feng, Ph.D.
Characterizing the molecular mechanisms of gut microbiota development and its relevance to childhood undernutrition
Washington University in St. Louis, laboratory of Jeffrey Gordon

Tomas Pluskal, Ph.D.
A multi-omics platform for exploring and exploiting plant chemodiversity
The Whitehead Institute, laboratory of Jing-Ke Weng

Olena Zhulyn, Ph.D.
Ribosomes in regeneration: rapid translational activation in wound healing and repair
Stanford University, laboratory of Maria Barna

2015 Simons Fellows of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research

Brittany Belin, Ph.D.
The role of hopanoids in plant-microbe symbioses
California Institute of Technology, laboratory of Dianne Newman

David Booth, Ph.D.
Genetic regulation of multicellularity in a close relative to metazoans
University of California, Berkeley, laboratory of Nicole King

2015 Simons Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation

Thomas Boothby, Ph.D.
Using water bears to identify novel methods for the dry storage of biomaterials
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, laboratory of Gary Pielak

Ricardo Laranjeiro, Ph.D.
C. elegans as a model for molecular genetic analyses of exercise benefits to healthy aging
Rutgers University, laboratory of Monica Driscoll

Dipti Nayak, Ph.D.
Synthetic biology and lab-based evolution for methanogenesis from non-natural substrates
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, laboratory of William Metcalf

Lena Pernas, Ph.D.
Manipulation of mitochondrial fusion: a new microbial strategy?
University of Padua, laboratory of Luca Scorrano

Benjamin Ross, Ph.D.
Investigation of interbacterial competition via type VI secretion between members of the gut microbiota
University of Washington, laboratory of Joseph Mougous

Josep Vilarrasa-Blasi, Ph.D.
Identification and characterization of water sensing mechanisms in plants
Carnegie Institution for Science, laboratory of Jose Dinneny

Christopher Whidden, Ph.D.
Developing statistical algorithms to infer the evolutionary history of viruses, antibodies, and cancer cells
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, laboratory of Frederick Matsen IV

2015 Simons Fellows of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation

Arthur Prindle, Ph.D.
Drug Resistance as a Collective Phenomenon.
University of California, San Diego, laboratory of Gurol Suel.

2014 Simons Fellows of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research

Duncan Leitch, Ph.D.
Using Unique Crocodilian Physiology to Probe Somatosensation
University of California, San Francisco, laboratory of David Julius

Joshua Modell, Ph.D.
Self vs. Non-Self Discrimination during CRISPR-Cas Adaptive Immunity
The Rockefeller University, laboratory of Luciano Marraffini

2014 Simons Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation

Aakash Basu, Ph.D.
Biophysical studies of protein: nucleic acid interactions involved in genomic maintenance
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, laboratory of Taekjip Ha

Rogier Braakman, Ph.D.
Metabolic Driving Forces in the Adaptive Dynamics of Marine Microbial Ecosystems
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, laboratory of Sallie W. Chisholm

Robert Jinkerson, Ph.D.
Transforming Our Understanding of Plant Lipid Metabolism with a Novel Functional Genomics Strategy
Carnegie Institution for Science, laboratory of Martin Jonikas

Caroline Runyan, Ph.D.
The Transfer and Representation of Sensory Information During Decision-Making
Harvard Medical School, laboratory of Christopher Harvey

2014 Simons Fellows of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation

Tania J. Lupoli, Ph.D.
Determining the Molecular Players Involved in Asymmetric Division as a Mechanism of Oxidative Stress Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Weill Cornell Medical College, laboratory of Carl Nathan

Jeremy M. Rock, Ph.D.
The Evolution of Drug Resistance in M. Tuberculosis
Harvard School of Public Health, laboratory of Sarah Fortune

Eleanore J. Clowney, Ph.D.
Evolution of a Neural Circuit in Drosophila
Rockefeller University, laboratory of Venessa Ruta

PAST FELLOWS

2014 Simons Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation

Ophelia Venturelli, Ph.D.
Reverse Engineering of Stable Microbial Communities From the Human Gut Microbiome
University of California, Berkeley, laboratory of Adam P. Arkin

2013 Simons Fellows of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research

Joseph Castellano, Ph.D.
Effects of Irradiation Injury on Systemic-Neurogenic Communication as Targets for Limiting Cognitive Dysfunction
Stanford University, laboratory of Tony Wyss-Coray

Tina Han, Ph.D.
Dynamics of RNA Granule Assembly in Temperature Synchronization of Clock Rhythms
University of California, San Francisco, laboratory of Lily Jan

2013 Simons Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation

Wei-Ting Liu, Ph.D.
Gaining Molecular Insight Into Fecal Transplantation for the Treatment of Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea
Stanford University, laboratory of David A. Relman

James Marshel, Ph.D.
Probing and Manipulating Cortical Circuit Learning in vivo
Stanford University, laboratory of Karl Deisseroth

Constance Richter, Ph.D.
Peptidergic Control of Sleep Regulation in Zebrafish
Harvard University, laboratory of Alex F. Schier

Joshua Weinstein, Ph.D.
Dissecting the Role of Protocadherin Diversity in Synaptic Plasticity and Memory Formation
Broad Institute, MIT, laboratory of Feng Zhang

Rayka Yokoo, Ph.D.
Fluorescent Biosensors for High Resolution Imaging of Metabolism in Live Animals
University of California, Berkeley, laboratory of David Savage