2020 Class of Boettcher Investigators includes five University of Colorado researchers
The Boettcher Foundation has announced its 2020 class of Boettcher Investigators, including five University of Colorado biomedical researchers.
The $1.88 million in awards from the foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards program support promising, early career scientific researchers, allowing them to establish their independent research and make it competitive for major federal and private awards.
Recipients each are awarded $235,000 in grant funding to sustain up to three years of biomedical research.
This year’s class, the 11th, brings the total number of CU-based Boettcher Investigators to 49, representing research awards of $11.4 million.
The 2020 Class of Boettcher Investigators and their research topics are:
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
- Petter Bjornstad, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine – Mechanisms underlying early diabetic kidney disease
- Suet Nee Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiology Division – Molecular genetics and pathogenesis of inherited cardiomyopathies
- Andra Lee Dingman, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology – Chronic changes in brain plasticity after neonatal stroke
- Sridharan Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine – Understanding genetic and non-genetic contributors to diabetes risk
University of Colorado Boulder
- Justin Brumbaugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology – Post-transcriptional regulation and stem cell biology
This year’s class of Boettcher Investigators also includes biomedical researchers from Colorado College, Colorado State University and National Jewish Health. Learn more here.
“This class of Boettcher Investigators are the example of Colorado’s innovation in bioscience research that aims to improve our preparation, response, and deepen our knowledge of human health issues,” said Katie Kramer, president and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation. “We are proud to support their expert work at this significant juncture in their research careers.”
Including the class of 2020, 76 Boettcher Investigators have received funding through the Webb-Waring program. Since 2010, Boettcher Investigators have gone on to earn a collective $80 million in subsequent independent research funding. Ninety-five percent of award recipients remain at Colorado research institutions, advancing the foundation’s mission of keeping Colorado’s top scientific minds in the state.
“Colorado BioScience Association congratulates the 2020 Class of Boettcher Investigators,” said Jennifer Jones Paton, president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association. “Boettcher Foundation and the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards support our state’s most promising scientific researchers. Our life sciences ecosystem applauds Boettcher Foundation’s investments in early stage research and looks forward to collaborating with the newest Boettcher Investigators.”
Friday’s announcement of the Webb-Waring awards came one week after the foundation announced its grantees of nearly $1 million in biomedical research funding to fight COVID-19 and potential future pandemics. The awardees include two CU researchers.
The Boettcher Foundation has been a leading philanthropic supporter of biomedical research in Colorado dating back to the 1940s. For more information about the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards, visit the Boettcher Foundation website.