We’re proud to congratulate Dr. Jeff Kuerbitz on being selected for funding through the prestigious Child Neurologist Career Development Program (CNCDP-K12). This national award supports early-career physicianscientists in child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities. As a CNCDP-K12 Scholar, he will receive dedicated funding for mentored research and career development over three years, with the goal of advancing toward independent NIH funding. Dr. Kuerbitz’s project, “EBF3-mediated transcriptional regulation of cerebellar circuitry,” will be conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Hsiao-Tuan Chao. Congratulations to Dr. Kuerbitz on this outstanding achievement and recognition of his promising research!
SFARI Fellows-to-Faculty Award: Cheryl Brandenburg’s New Milestone
Cheryl Brandenburg, a postdoc in Dr. Roy Sillitoe’s lab, was awarded the SFARI Fellows-to-Faculty Award to support her project "From Neural Circuits to Communication: Unraveling Language Pathways in Autism" a prestigious transition grant designed to support postdoctoral researchers in launching careers in autismrelated science. The award includes two phases: up to two years of continued postdoctoral funding, followed by a three-year independent faculty phase (similar to a K99/R00). This program aims to accelerate the careers of investigators pioneering innovative approaches to understanding the biology of autism.
Congratulations to Dr. Hyun Kyoung Lee!
We’re delighted to celebrate Dr. Hyun Kyoung Lee, who received the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s prestigious MS Healthcare Champion Award in September. This honor recognizes Dr. Lee’s exceptional dedication and contributions to advancing care and research for individuals living with multiple sclerosis. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!
Congratulations to Dr. Damian Young!
We’re excited to share that Dr. Damian Young has been promoted to Director of the Center for Drug Discovery. This well-deserved achievement recognizes his outstanding leadership, innovation, and contributions to advancing translational research and therapeutic discovery. Congratulations, Dr. Young!
Congratulations to Dr. Roy Sillitoe!
Dr. Roy Sillitoe has been awarded a 2-year grant from the Raynor Cerebellum Project to support his project, “Developing Methods of Genetically Inducing Cell Death in the Cerebellum.” The funding will help advance understanding of cerebellar disorders by defining the cellular mechanisms of Purkinje cell loss.
Dr. Nicole Provenza Receives Major Awards and Funding
Assistant Professor Dr. Nicole Provenza received both an NIH R01 and a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant to advance her work on ethological neurobehavioral markers of OCD. She was also honored with the CommonSpirit Health Overall Academic Excellence Award and the North American Neuromodulation Society Kumar Young Investigator Award, recognizing her growing impact in neuromodulation. Her lab capped a standout year with 16 poster presentations at the IEEE Conference on Neural Engineering and the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, highlighting significant progress in biomarker discovery for psychiatric deep brain stimulation.
