The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who have recently begun their first appointment at the assistant professor level. Each year, 15 new individuals are named Searle Scholars. Awards are currently set at $100,000 per year for three years. Since its inception in 1980, 482 Searle Scholars have been named and over $93 million has been awarded.
The program is funded from the estates of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Searle. Mr. Searle was the grandson of the founder of the world-wide pharmaceutical company, G.D. Searle & Company.
Among the 15 new Searle Scholars this year are four women.
Danica G. Fujimori is an assistant professor in the department of cellular and molecular pharmacology/pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on the development of novel chemical tools which, in conjunction with biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology techniques, will allow for the interrogation of biological processes on a molecular level.
Dr. Fujimori is a graduate of the University of Belgrade. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and did postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School.
Wendy S. Garrett is an assistant professor in the department of immunology and infectious disease at Harvard School 0f Public Health. Her research concerns understanding how interactions between intestinal microbial communities and the immune system contribute to the pathophysiology of both inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
Dr. Garrett holds bachelor’s, master’s, medical, and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University.
Megan C. King is an assistant professor of cell biology at Yale University. Among her current research projects is the identification and characterization of proteins that contribute to the interface between the nucleus and cytoskeleton.
Dr. King is a graduate of Brandeis University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.
Elizabeth M. Nolan is an assistant professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research involves the interface of chemistry and biology with a current focus on metalloproteins and peptides involved in host/producer immunity, antibacterial action, or neurodegeneration.
Dr. Nolan is a magna cum laude of Smith College. After studying in France as a Fulbright Scholar, she earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at MIT. She did postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School before joining the MIT faculty in 2009.