Sophia Jannetty (Biology graduate student), Jamie Cochran, and Atsushi Matsuda (both Biology postdoctoral scholars) were awarded grant funding by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The grants support work in natural science disciplines, and awardees will receive between $90,000 and $200,000 for work lasting 9 to 24 months.
UW News asked the cohort of Moore Foundation awardees to share their research goals. Here is what Sophia, Jamie, and Atsushi said:
Sophia Jannetty, graduate student, Department of Biology:
“I use computer simulations to explore how the behavior of individual cells affects the health of our tissues and organs. I am honored to receive the Moore Foundation fellowship, which will allow me to apply this approach to better understand how aging cells and inflammation interact to influence disease. I hope my work can inform more thoughtful strategies for promoting healthy aging.”
Jamie Cochran, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Biology:
“I will study the physiology of the freshwater crustacean Hyalella azteca, which is used to understand the impact of aquatic stressors — such as metals or pesticides — on freshwater environments. Just like humans require a specific ratio of salt to water for survival, these shrimp-like crustaceans must regulate their internal balance of ions to water. My project involves trying to determine the mechanisms behind this balance, which could also help us understand other sensitive freshwater creatures. I am grateful to this fellowship for the opportunity to investigate this ecologically significant species.”
Atsushi Matsuda, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Biology:
“Electron microscopy reveals extraordinary details inside living cells, but turning these images into accurate three-dimensional reconstructions remains a major challenge. My research aims to overcome this by combining physics-informed machine learning with computer vision to create tools that are broadly usable by biological researchers. I am excited to receive this fellowship because it gives me the freedom to pursue this highly interdisciplinary work at the intersection of biology, computational mechanics and artificial intelligence.”
Congratulations, all!