2022 Allen Distinguished Investigator (ADI) Open Calls
The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group is excited to announce two 2022 Allen Distinguished Investigator (ADI) initiatives based on ideas submitted to our 2021 Ask Anything, Change Everything campaign. Up to eight awards will be made for up to $10M total funding to support technology development in two areas: Protein Lifespan and Nutrient Sensing. We are seeking Letters of Intent (LOIs) by noon March 1, 2022, for the two initiatives. Selected LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals to be considered for an ADI award in 2022.
The Ideas
The Protein Lifespan idea was submitted by David Thaller, Ph.D., during his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital (Thaller is now a scientist at Moderna). Thaller writes:
“Aging is the predominant risk factor for the development of a broad spectrum of disease, but the molecular basis of aging and its impact on molecular sociology at the cellular and organismal level are incredibly difficult questions to answer. I hope that generating tools to visualize the live dynamics of the “proteomic clock” across the cellular landscape will provide insight into both fundamental biology as well as disease etiology and progression.”
The Nutrient Sensing idea was submitted by Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research doctoral students Grace Liu and Paul Rosen. They write:
“We've been interested in how cells and organisms monitor their nutritional status and what happens when those signals go awry, but a huge challenge in our experiments is that we can’t resolve metabolites in single cells and at timescales relevant to metabolism, which span from seconds to months. We envision that successfully addressing this gap will enable progress in understanding where, when, and how nutrients get sensed, in obtaining new insights into the pathology and treatment of metabolic diseases like diabetes and cancer, and ultimately in revising our textbook understanding of how metabolism works by nuancing it at the single-cell level in living organisms.”
See announcement for details on these funding opportunities ►︎