Blavatnik Family Graduate Fellowship in Biology and Medicine

The Blavatnik Family Graduate Fellowship in Biology and Medicine recognizes outstanding scholarship and innovation in the life sciences.

Brown University has named the inaugural recipients of the Blavatnik Family Graduate Fellowship in Biology and Medicine, a new fellowship made possible through a generous, multi-year donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation.

The eight Blavatnik Family Fellows were selected based on outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated potential for producing original research that advances scientific knowledge and understanding in the basic and clinical life sciences. The fellows’ research is representative of a diverse array of scientific disciplines.

Each fellow will receive one academic year of support, as well as a research fund.   

Brown Biology in the News

Blavatnik Family Fellows 2023

  • Nigel Anderson

    Nigel Anderson

    Nigel Anderson is studying in the Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology program with Professor Matt Fuxjager to understand the role of the brain in shaping the evolution of novel and elaborate animal behaviors.

  • Kelsey Babcock

    Kelsey Babcock

    Kelsey Babcock is a scholar in the Neuroscience program working to understand the decline in new brain cell formation that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease to identify targets to prevent this diminution and improve the learning and memory deficits associated with the disease with Professors Ashley Webb and Alexander Fleischmann.

  • Jennifer Cui

    Jennifer Cui

    Jennifer Cui is analyzing the structure and function of proteins involved in inflammation and cell signaling with Professor George Lisi in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program.

  • Audrey Dalgarno

    Audrey Dalgarno

    Audrey Dalgarno is working with Professor Nicola Neretti to identify changes to the spatial arrangement of DNA within the nucleus that occur with cellular senescence, an irreversible state of cell cycle arrest which contributes to aging, with the goal of extending human health and lifespans in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program.

  • Isaac Kim

    Isaac Kim

    Isaac Kim, a student in the Computational Biology program, is working to develop a prognostic model for Burkitt lymphoma in emerging nations by using cutting-edge sequencing and machine learning techniques with Professor Jeff Bailey.

     

  • Noe Mercado

    Noe Mercado

    Noe Mercado is examining the role of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) in brain cancer malignancy and progression to develop novel targeted therapeutic approaches with Professor Sean Lawler in the Pathobiology program.

  • Gabriel Monteiro da Silva

    Gabriel Monteiro da Silva

    Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, a student in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program, is working with Professor Brenda Rubenstein to develop computer simulations to study how changes within the structural arrangements of cancer-causing proteins can lead to drug resistance and increased potential for harm, with the ultimate goal of guiding the design of next-generation therapeutics.

  • Mattia Pizzagalli

    Mattia Pizzagalli

    Mattia Pizzagalli, a scholar in the Pathobiology program, is working with Professor Nikos Tapinos to investigate how changes in gene expression in individuals with glioblastoma, an incurable, aggressive type of brain tumor, may impact cancer progression and serve as potential therapeutic targets.