Four members of the Mass General Brigham research community have received awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.
The program was founded to support “exceptionally creative scientists pursuing highly innovative research with the potential for broad impact in biomedical, behavioral, or social sciences within the NIH mission.”
The four high-risk, high-reward research awardees are Grant Jones, MA; Diana Shi, MD; Wilfredo F. Garcia-Beltran, MD, PhD; and Jonathan Strecker, PhD.
NIH Director's Early Independence Awards
Jones and Shi were awarded the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, which recognizes newly graduated scientists with the scientific creativity, drive, and intellect to bypass traditional postdoctoral training and launch independent research careers.
Grant Jones, MA
Grant Jones
Dr. Jones is the Director of the Jones Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.
His research explores how contemplative tools—such as mindfulness meditation and psychedelic-assisted therapy—can improve mental health and overall well-being.
He studies the various factors that influence how these tools work, such as the social background of the individual, the environment in which the therapy is given, and the context surrounding its use.
Jones is leading multiple studies to better understand how psychedelics, meditation, and other contemplative offerings affect people in both clinical settings (like hospitals or therapy sessions) and non-clinical environments (such as everyday life).
Diana Shi, MD
Diana Shi, MD
Dr. Shi is a radiation oncologist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute who focuses on treating brain tumors.
Her research centers on gliomas, which are one of the most common type of brain tumor in adults.
A specific group of these tumors has a mutation in a gene called IDH1 (isocitrate dehydrogenase 1) that contributes to development of gliomas.
To study these tumors, Dr. Shi uses genetically engineered mouse models that mimic the human form of IDH1-mutant astrocytoma (a type of glioma).
These models help her understand how certain treatments can slow or stop tumor growth.
She also investigates how the IDH1 mutation changes the way tumor cells respond to DNA damage, which is important because many cancer treatments work by damaging the DNA of cancer cells.
Her goal is to figure out how best to use IDH1-targeting drugs in real-world clinical settings and to discover new combination therapies that could lead to better outcomes for patients.
NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards
Garcia-Beltran and Strecker were awarded the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, which supports early career scientists who propose bold, creative, and innovative research projects relevant to the NIH mission.
Wilfredo F. Garcia-Beltran, MD, PhD
Wilfredo F. Garcia-Beltran, MD, PhD
Dr. Garcia-Beltran is a principal investigator at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard, and specializes in transfusion medicine and clinical pathology.
His research seeks to study how natural killer (NK) cells—a type of immune cell that plays a key role in the body’s defense against viral infections and cancer—recognize and kill solid tumors of lung, breast, and colorectal origin.
Using innovative synthetic biology and bioengineering strategies, Garcia-Beltran's work aims to understand NK cell biology and develop NK cell-based immunotherapies that can effectively treat patients with solid tumors, potentially transforming cancer treatment, and improving the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. Learn about Dr. Garcia-Beltran's journey from Puerto Rico to Boston.
Jonathan Strecker, PhD
Jonathan Strecker, PhD
Dr. Strecker is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
His research focuses on the wide variety of RNA-guided proteins found in microbes—tiny organisms like bacteria.
He discovered that guide RNAs (molecules that help direct cellular processes) can steer not just one type of enzyme, but many—including proteases, which cut proteins, and transposons; which move pieces of DNA around.
These enzymes can be programmed to act in specific ways, which opens up exciting possibilities.
Dr. Strecker’s work involves identifying and studying these new types of RNA-guided enzymes.
His long-term goal is to use these tools to precisely control how cells behave, based on their genetic makeup—potentially leading to powerful new technologies in medicine. Learn more about the Strecker Lab.
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