Early excellence, rewarded
Two young Harvard scientists will each receive $2.54 million or more in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that will support research and overhead costs through a new program intended to accelerate the entry of outstanding junior investigators into independent researcher positions. John Calarco, a Bauer Fellow at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Center for Systems Biology, and Harris Wang, a Technology Development Fellow at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, were among the first 10 researchers to receive NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards. The awards effectively allow winners to leapfrog over the traditional postdoctoral training period, and are designed to capitalize on the creativity, confidence, and energy of young scientists. Calarco, who will receive approximately $400,000 per year over five years, said the grant will allow him to continue research he began as part of his Ph.D. effort that examines gene regulation of cells in the nervous system, and...