- Rita Allen Foundation

All Scholars

Since 1976, the Rita Allen Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to early-career biomedical scholars. These grants allow Rita Allen Foundation Scholars to establish labs and pursue research directions with above-average risk and promise. See below for a full list of Scholars, or read more about the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program.

2022

Maria Antonietta Tosches +
Columbia University

Maria Antonietta Tosches

Assistant Professor; Department of Biological Sciences

Ph.D., European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Germany

M.S., University of Pisa and Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy

The stunning complexity of our brain is the result of a long journey, that started when squishy and brainless aggregates of cells—the first animals—appeared on Earth over 700 million years ago. Understanding how our brain evolved can shed light on fundamental principles underlying its organization and function. The Tosches lab investigates the evolution of the cerebral cortex, the part of our brain associated with advanced cognition. Focusing on neuron types as units of evolutionary change, we discovered that the mammalian cerebral cortex has a unique neuronal repertoire without clear counterparts in other vertebrates. Our future goal is to understand how changes of developmental programs and gene regulation contributed to the emergence of these new types of neurons in mammals.
Ryan A. Flynn +
Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard University

Ryan A. Flynn

Assistant Professor; Pediatrics and the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department

M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University, School of Medicine

B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Life is made up of many different types of biopolymers such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and carbohydrates. The Flynn lab studies a hybrid molecule that we discovered called glycoRNA, which is a conjugate of RNA and carbohydrates (glycans). Unlike other RNA species, glycoRNAs are found on the surface of living mammalian cells which places them in an exciting position to control biological processes such as cell-cell communication, host-pathogen interactions, or cell signaling. In the lab, we develop chemical tools and molecular strategies to detect, characterize, and define the functions of glycoRNAs across a range of biological contexts and conditions. Our long-term goal is to control glycoRNA biology for diagnostic and therapeutic benefit.
Christopher Barnes +
Stanford University

Christopher Barnes

Assistant Professor; Biology; Structural Biology

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine

M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

B.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Viruses are inextricably linked to the host cells that they infect. Thus, investigating viral-host interactions is essential to understanding the mechanisms of viral entry, replication, pathogenesis, and the host’s ability to respond to viral pathogens. The Barnes lab excels in leveraging interdisciplinary approaches to address fundamental principles of viral-host interactions for therapeutic benefit. We combine biophysical and structural methods with in vivo approaches to understand how enveloped viruses infect host cells and elicit immune responses. In particular, our research translates knowledge of the structural correlates of antibody-mediated neutralization into the development of highly effective immunotherapies. Additionally, we seek to identify conserved epitopes on viral glycoproteins that are recognized by neutralizing antibodies to facilitate structure-based immunogen design for candidate vaccines against coronaviruses and HIV-1. By combining structural information and improved biochemical methods to mask distracting epitopes, we believe pan-neutralizing vaccines that protect against emerging and re-emerging viral threats are attainable.
Ahmed Abdelfattah +
Brown University

Ahmed Abdelfattah

Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

Ph.D., University of Alberta

B.S., German University of Cairo

Brain circuits are dynamic networks of neurons that process information in the form of electrical and chemical signals to form memories and behaviors. To investigate how brain circuits instantiate fundamental computations underlying behaviors, we need to map their wiring diagrams coupled with functional analysis at cellular resolution to correlate neuron activity with behavior. However, the electrical and chemical signals are not directly visible since there is no natural contrast mechanism that allows us “to see” those signals. The Abdelfattah lab is developing novel classes of molecular tools for large-scale functional analysis and manipulation of brain circuits. In the lab, we repurpose proteins found in nature and engineer them to illuminate brain communication. We hope to use our new molecular tools to unravel the functional basis and causes of neural disorders at a level of detail that has not been accessible to date and empower us to develop novel treatments.
Kevin Monahan +
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Kevin Monahan

Milton E. Cassel Scholar

Assistant Professor; Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry

Ph.D., Harvard University

B.S., Haverford College

Kevin Monahan has been designated the Milton E. Cassel Scholar for the 2022 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars. This special award honors the memory of a longtime President of the Rita Allen Foundation who passed away in 2004.

In order to fit the long DNA molecules that encode our genome into a tiny nucleus, our cells fold the DNA into complex 3-dimensional structures. This folding does more than save space; it also affects how genes are turned on and off. Intriguingly, different types of cells in the nervous system exhibit distinct 3D nuclear structures. However, the functional significance and regulation of these 3D nuclear structures remains poorly understood. The Monahan lab studies the protein machinery that controls the 3D positioning of genes within the nucleus and how the formation of 3D nuclear structures regulates gene expression. For example, we recently discovered that olfactory sensory neurons, which detect chemical odorants in the air, use the 3D positioning of odorant receptor genes in the nucleus to control the specific type of odorant receptor that they will express. Using molecular, genetic, and genomic approaches, we are investigating protein complexes that regulate 3D nuclear structures in olfactory neurons and in defined populations of neurons within the central nervous system.

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