Two Feinberg faculty members have been named 2024 Pew Scholars by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which recognizes promising early-career investigators whose research will accelerate discovery and translation in the biomedical sciences.  

Yogesh Goyal, PhD, assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, has been named a Pew-Stewart Scholar in Cancer Research, and Ann Kennedy, PhD, assistant professor of Neuroscience, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences.  

Identifying Early Predictors of Drug Resistance in Cancer  

“Being named a Pew-Stewart Scholar in Cancer Research is an incredible honor,” Goyal said. “This recognition is a testament not just to my efforts but to the collaborative spirit and dedication of my entire research group. As someone deeply invested in bridging engineering, mathematics and cell biology to decode and manipulate cellular behaviors, being part of a community that supports high-risk, high-reward research significantly reinforces my team’s commitment to fearlessly push the boundaries of cancer research.” 

The Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research supports promising early-career scientists whose research will accelerate discovery and advance progress to a cure for cancer. The program provides scholars with a four-year grant to advance ongoing research projects and new research initiatives.  

Goyal’s research combines theory, computation, and single-cell resolved experiments to track and control cellular plasticity and fate choices in developing tissues and cancer.  

“I want to thank the Lurie Cancer Center for nominating my application in the first place. I also want to thank the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and the Center for Synthetic Biology for creating an environment conducive for growth and pursuing high risk work. I would be remiss if I did not thank my past and present mentors for their unwavering support. Lastly, it is really my trainees who are working hard on our scientific questions, and I am constantly learning from them – equal credit goes to them!” Goyal said. 

The award will support the Goyal laboratory’s in expanding their novel FateMap tool, which helps identify early predictors of drug resistance by tracking how cancer cells respond to therapies at a single-cell level. The award will also facilitate the development new computational approaches, including stochastic mathematical models and machine learning approaches, to predict which cells will initiate therapy resistance, rather than combating resistance after it has occurred, Goyal said. 

“Importantly, this support will also help us nurture a diverse and vibrant research team. We aim to continue building an interdisciplinary group that brings together fresh perspectives from disparate fields to tackle cancer in innovative ways,” Goyal said. 

Linking Neural Mechanisms and Behavior  

“Being named a Pew Scholar provides recognition and financial support of my lab’s research program, but more importantly it’s also an opportunity to build connections with other past recipients of the award,” Kennedy said.  

The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides four years of funding to young investigators with outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. Kennedy was selected from among 198 nominations submitted by leading U.S. academic and research institutions.  

“Pew does a fantastic job of maintaining a network of award alumni who reconnect in annual meetings. This community is an invaluable source of mentorship as an early-career researcher,” Kennedy said.  

Kennedy’s research aims to elucidate the structure of animal behavior and the neural mechanisms of flexible and adaptive behavior control, using tools from dynamical systems, statistical modeling, and machine learning. Her most recent work has discovered new insights into how neuronal diversity impacts the brain’s information processing, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and how aggression between members of the same species is determined by fluctuating levels of activity between hypothalamic neurons, published in Cell.  

The award will support Kennedy’s ongoing research into the neural mechanisms underlying the balance of competing survival needs, Kennedy said.  

“We’ve been building computational models of hypothalamic regions that regulate the expression of aggressive behavior and its modulation by stress and social isolation, as well as a hypothalamic projection to the brainstem that suppress persistent pain inputs when animals are hungry,” Kennedy said. “The Pew award will support the careers of graduate and postdoc researchers in my lab who are building out these models to make testable predictions of the molecular mechanisms by which experience reshapes hypothalamic activity.”