Awards

One photo, many whales: scholar captures research above the Arctic Circle

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:31:55 +0000

One photo, many whales: scholar captures research above the Arctic Circle Rachel Sauer Mon, 02/02/2026 - 14:31

Cody DeBos

For CU Boulder ecology and evolutionary biology alumna Emma Vogel, an award-winning photo captured a vital moment of research and science

Soft light slanted across the gray Norwegian sky, bouncing off the frigid water where Emma Vogel sat in a research boat. She had just helped her team tag a whale and was scanning the waves for the next group. It was a rare reprieve in what otherwise tends to be a chaotic venture.

She lifted her camera, but not for data collection this time. The scene was simply too vivid not to capture.

“I was super surprised about catching the little whale in the background of it, framed in the platform,” Vogel recalls. “That was a very, very nice surprise. I’m not often using my camera to take pictures of people, but the lighting was so atmospheric, I thought it would be a good shot.”

Emma Vogel, a 2016 CU Boulder graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology, is a postdoctoral researcher at The Arctic �Թ�� of Norway.

The photo, showing a researcher poised to launch a tracking tag set against a backdrop of swarming seabirds, went on to win Nature’s 2025 Scientist at Work photo competition.

For Vogel, a 2016 �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder graduate, the image is more than an award-winner. It’s a snapshot of her life spent tracking giants of the ocean through the shifting currents of science and sustainability.

A path north

Vogel’s journey to the coast of Northern Norway, firmly situated in the Arctic Circle, began in Washington, D.C., but when it was time to go to college, the mountains of Colorado called.

“I thought Colorado looked beautiful. And I kind of always knew I wanted to do science or ecology, so it seemed like a perfect place for that,” she says.

During her time at CU Boulder, Vogel studied ecology and evolutionary biology, exploring the impact of forest fires and regrowth. A semester abroad in Sweden opened her eyes to marine science.

“I got to take some more aquatic and ocean marine-based courses and I fell in love with the field.”

After graduation, Vogel spent two years working in animal welfare policy with the Humane Society of the United States. However, she felt drawn to do hands-on research.

That led her to Tromsø, Norway, where she earned her master’s and PhD and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Arctic �Թ�� of Norway’s Arctic Sustainability Lab.

Fieldwork at the edge of the world

As one might imagine, life and research in the Arctic come with their own rhythms.

“Some of the unique, really wonderful things that maybe people wouldn't expect, is that it's such a diverse place, both the people and the ecosystems, the organisms that live here,” Vogel says. “We have a beautiful combination of mountains and ocean right in the same space.”

Fieldwork in this environment is both harsh and intimate. Vogel and her team spend weeks tracking and tagging humpback and killer whales in the fjords during the winter herring season. She says the process can be logistically easier than in other places because the whales stay close to the coast.

But the conditions are punishing.

“In the morning, we often need to shovel snow out of our boats before we can get started, and it’s cold enough where the seawater is freezing onto the boat. Temperatures are often well below zero while we’re out doing research.”

Luckily, Vogel has discovered something of a superpower.

“The thing that changed it for me was when I discovered battery-powered socks that you can put on a little cycle to heat up every 30 minutes,” she says with a grin. “They really make all the difference.”

Those socks come in handy during long days on the water when Vogel and her team are using air-powered tracking equipment to attach satellite transmitters to whales. The tags allow researchers to track their movements long after they disappear from the coast.

“Normally, once the whales get enough of the herring, we don’t know where they go. With the tags, we can see their movement patterns for a month to six months, depending on the species and tag,” she says.

From there, Vogel and her team can interpret the data to paint a clearer picture of what these oceanic giants do when they slip below the waves.

“We can figure out their behavior based on the data. If they’re slowing down and turning a lot in one area, we can say they’re possibly looking for food and foraging. If they’re traveling in a straight line really fast, then it’s kind of transiting behavior. For humpbacks, we’ve tracked them through a full migration. So, going down to the Caribbean and then back up to Norway and even up into the Barents Sea.

“These tags let us track them through the entire ocean and see things we otherwise wouldn’t be able to, which is, I think, really exciting.”

Emma Vogel's award-winning photo shows biologist Audun Rikardsen, her PhD advisor at The Arctic �Թ�� of Norway, battling waves in a northern Norwegian fjord, aided by the glow from a nearby fishing trawler.

Data-informed decisions

Part of Vogel’s work in the Arctic Sustainability Lab involves turning movement data into better marine policy.

“We are working to create ways to use tracking data to help spatial planners consider these migratory animals when designing local marine protected areas,” she says.

It’s a tricky challenge. Protected zones often prioritize stationary habitats for sea grasses and corals (and the animals that rely on them), not animals that travel hundreds or thousands of miles every year. Vogel and her team hope to change that by giving planners reliable data to inform their policy decisions.

But her work isn’t solely focused on marine life. She’s also part of a project called the Coastal Barometer, which helps quantify the health and sustainability of Northern Norway’s seaside communities.

“We developed a website called the Coastal Barometer to offer different ways of looking at and considering sustainability. It lets people from different municipalities click on where they’re from and see where they’re performing well and where there needs to be improvement,” Vogel says.

The project includes metrics for biodiversity, water quality, carbon storage, tourism, economic resilience and even a unique measure called “sense of place” that considers how much people value their connection to the local land and sea.

The latter is more urgent than ever. While Vogel doesn’t want to attribute all changes in her community to climate change, she’s already seen worrying signs.

“This last summer and the summer before we had about a month of days that you were able to go hiking in shorts in the Arctic. That’s been rare since I came here in 2018. For now, they’re nice, but you don’t want it much warmer.”

Those summer days may be rare enough to feel like a novelty today. But for researchers like Vogel, they are a quiet warning that even in the planet’s most rugged corners, change is underway. Thanks to valuable data collected by humans who care, communities and conservationists can be equipped with tools to adapt to those changes.

Boulder foundation, global reach

Despite her current home being thousands of miles away, Vogel still sees her time at CU Boulder as a defining chapter.

“It really set me up so well, I think, to be an interdisciplinary researcher. Not only taking science courses, but also exploring literature, communication, human geography. I even took a course about Vikings, which was quite fun,” she recalls.

That foundation has served her well in a career that now sprawls across ecology, community engagement and policy innovation. For students hoping to follow in her footsteps, Vogel has one piece of advice: “Genuine curiosity.”

“You need to really want to understand and be inquisitive,” she says. “To understand for the sake of understanding—not just taking your courses. Asking questions and not taking things at surface value, just always wondering, ‘Why? Why? Why?’ can really get you far.”

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For CU Boulder ecology and evolutionary biology alumna Emma Vogel, an award-winning photo captured a vital moment of research and science.

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Karolin Luger wins Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:01:29 +0000

Karolin Luger wins Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science Rachel Sauer Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:01

The award recognizes CU Boulder biochemist’s career dedication to the study of nucleosomes and groundbreaking discoveries

Karolin Luger, a distinguished professor of biochemistry and the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Endowed Chair of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science.

The $100,000 award recognizes her career dedication to the study of nucleosomes—research that led to the groundbreaking capture of a high-resolution image of chromatin and resulted in the development of novel drug treatments for diseases including cancer.

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science honor immigrants who are leading advancements in biomedical research in the United States. Prize co-founder Jan Vilcek—whose research led to the development of the drug Remicade—established prizes to support distinct ingenuity in scientific inquiry.

Karolin Luger, a distinguished professor of biochemistry and the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Endowed Chair of Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science. (Photo: Vilcek Foundation)

Presented annually since 2006, the Vilcek Foundation prizes honor immigrant contributions to societal advancement in the United States and recognize excellence in the arts and sciences. Since the prizes program began 20 years ago, the Vilcek Foundation has awarded $9.6 million to individuals “whose perspectives, creativity and vision have enriched the United States.”

“The Vilcek Foundation community are unwavering champions of the immigrants and leaders who advance every facet of our culture,” said Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. “The United States is a nation defined by freedom of expression, imagination and opportunity. This 20th group of prizewinners demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to honor those who embody the spirit of resiliency that defines our country and society.”

Luger, who is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, became interested in science at an early age, using a microscope to study the plants and soil in her garden at the microscopic level. She earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in biochemistry from the �Թ�� of Innsbruck in Austria and a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from the �Թ�� of Basel in Switzerland before immigrating to the United States in 1990.

“I came (to the United States) to join this amazing scientific enterprise that is the envy of the entire world,” Luger said.

As an immigrant from Austria who has participated in international research collaborations throughout her career, Luger notes that cross-cultural perspectives are essential to continued scientific advancement.

“Diversity is key because everything becomes clearer and more three-dimensional when illuminated from all sides,” said Luger. “To borrow a concept from structural biology: You need to see ‘all orientations!’ This can only be achieved with a diverse workforce where people constantly question each other’s assumptions.”

‘The central dogma’

In her postdoctoral studies at ETH Zürich in Switzerland, Luger focused on the atomic structure of nucleosomes, the discovery of which would help scientists understand fundamental aspects of the human genome. After eight years of research, Luger and her colleague, Tim Richmond at ETH Zürich, published a groundbreaking paper that has influenced innumerable studies and changed how researchers understand the interactions of proteins within the nucleosome, how proteins are modified and how this controls gene activity.

Since its publication 28 years ago, the paper has been cited more than 12,000 times and is included in biology textbooks and classes as part of “the central dogma.”

Because of Luger’s discovery, many diseases have since been found to stem from mutations in the nucleosome, resulting in the development of successful drug treatments. Luger continues to study nucleosomes in her laboratory work.

“Like many others, my lab has built on this original discovery, and we continue to be surprised by the elegant and complicated ways in which DNA access is regulated by nucleosomes,” Luger said. “I am proud to have contributed a bit of beauty and knowledge to the world.”

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The award recognizes CU Boulder biochemist’s career dedication to the study of nucleosomes and groundbreaking discoveries.

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CU Boulder researcher named one of 2025 Grist 50

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 21:31:21 +0000

CU Boulder researcher named one of 2025 Grist 50 Rachel Sauer Thu, 09/18/2025 - 15:31

Zia Mehrabi joins a cohort of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges

Zia Mehrabi, an assistant professor of environmental studies at the �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder and director of the Better Planet Laboratory, has been named one of the 2025 Grist 50, an annual list of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges.

The Grist 50 features “climate leaders across the U.S. who are tackling some of the most pressing problems of today in innovative and exciting ways,” according to Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. “The list provides an annual dose of inspiration and a reminder that the stories we tell about climate change are incomplete without the narratives of those fighting back, bringing change to their communities and inventing a better future.”

Illustration: Grist

The Grist 50, whom the organization calls “fixers,” includes “creatives bringing powerful stories to new audiences, advocates pushing for healthy and just food systems and tech wizards putting AI to work for more efficient energy infrastructure. These leaders have pushed back against harmful industries (and won), cut carbon emissions from hospitals, advanced wildfire solutions from Hawai‘i to California and brought together unlikely coalitions to break ground on clean energy networks. They’re teachers, scientists, doctors, farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists who are putting climate front and center in their work and driving real progress,” according to Grist.

Mehrabi and the Better Planet Laboratory are a group of data scientists and creatives who build data products and services for a better and fairer planet. They work to scale their impact through partnerships with a range of partners across the world, from intergovernmental agencies to grassroots NGOs and human rights organizations. Their work has included mapping the world agricultural lands, the agricultural workforce and the climate stress they face, the global flows of food across the world from producers to consumers and the human cost of consuming carbon-intensive products, as well as the potential for alternative ways of farming, and more.

Mehrabi and the Better Planet Laboratory are focused on mapping violations of the United Nations resolution of the human right to a healthy and safe environment and using modern technologies to support the United Nations Committee on Rights of the Child’s efforts to tackle grave violations of children's rights, among other projects.

Earlier this year, Mehrabi won the U.S. National Champion Frontiers Planet Prize, and one of three international Frontiers Planet awards, for co-authoring groundbreaking research studying how adding diversity back into agricultural systems in 11 countries might improve environmental and social outcomes.

“It’s common to hear people say you are a product of your environment,” Mehrabi says. “I think what we sometimes forget is that our environment is a product of us, too—that we can change the world we live in, and there are so many inspiring people in the U.S.A. doing this right now.”

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Zia Mehrabi joins a cohort of leaders from across the U.S. who are working on solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges.

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Top illustration: Grist

CU Boulder scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:23:11 +0000

CU Boulder scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland Rachel Sauer Fri, 08/22/2025 - 13:23

Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time

Jaelyn Eberle, a �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the extensive collection of Cretaceous (about 75 million years old) Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

Eberle will travel to Poland Aug. 31 to begin work comparing the Mongolian mammal collection with fossil mammals that she and her colleagues discovered on the North Slope of Alaska, in the hopes of identifying some of the earliest mammals to cross from Asia into North America via Beringia, a prehistoric land bridge that once connected the two continents. Along with Professor Lucja Fostowicz-Frelik, Eberle also will team-teach a graduate seminar on the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary for the BioPlanet Doctoral School in Poland, which attracts PhD students in biology, geology and biochemistry from across Europe.

Jaelyn Eberle, a CU Boulder professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the Cretaceous Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

“Until now, my research has focused mostly on North American fossil mammals,” Eberle explains. “The Fulbright award allows me to broaden my research to include ancient Mongolian mammals and collaborate with the foremost expert on them, Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik. I am also excited to co-teach a class with Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik; this will build my knowledge of the Eurasian fossil record and inject new content, perspective and teaching styles into my courses at CU Boulder.

“Being immersed in the language and culture of Poland for four months and teaching PhD students from across Europe will also give me perspective on how to better support CU students from international backgrounds, too.”

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

“Professor Eberle’s fascinating research is important not only because it advances scientific knowledge, it also expands the Museum Institute’s vibrant international collaborations, helping us to connect with scholars around the globe,” says Nancy Stevens, director of the Museum Institute and professor of anthropology.

Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

More than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, more than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants—recent college graduates, graduate students and early-career professionals—participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

As a Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Eberle will further her study of fossil mammals, their evolution during past intervals of global warmth and their dispersal across the Northern Hemisphere when polar land bridges connected North America to both Asia and Europe.

“I hypothesize that some of the Cretaceous Alaskan mammals belong to Asian lineages; if true, this would provide direct evidence that Beringia was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time,” Eberle explains. “The Alaskan fauna preserves the northernmost known mammals of the Mesozoic Era (or Age of Dinosaurs), and our team’s latest findings mean it may also include among the earliest mammalian immigrants from Asia to North America.

Jaelyn Eberle (foreground, yellow jacket) and her colleagues quarry for tiny vertebrate fossils in Alaska's Prince Creek Formation. (Photo: Kevin May)

Many of the mammal teeth Jaelyn Eberle studies are the size of sand grains. This is a tooth of the tiny Alaskan mammal Sikuomys mikros (meaning "tiny ice mouse") that lived in northern Alaska about 72 million years ago. (Photo: Jaelyn Eberle)

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Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time.

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Top illustration: James Havens

CU Boulder scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:34:17 +0000

CU Boulder scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar Rachel Sauer Tue, 08/19/2025 - 08:34

Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease’

Vignesh Kasinath, a �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

Kasinath is among a cohort of 22 early-career scholars who will receive four years of funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts “to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.”

“For 40 years, Pew has supported young, talented researchers as they take creative approaches to solving big scientific questions,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “This new class continues that legacy, and we look forward to seeing where their discoveries lead.”

Vignesh Kasinath, a �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

The members of the 2025 cohort are all early-career, junior faculty and are the 40th group of Pew scholars to be awarded funding since the program’s founding in 1985.

“Pew-funded scientists have long contributed to biomedical research discoveries that have improved human health,” said Lee Niswander, a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program’s national advisory committee. “I’m confident this new class of scholars, with their innovative and creative approaches to scientific research, will continue this tradition.”

Kasinath’s research explores how cells “silence” transposons, which are genetic elements whose movement within the genome can disrupt the function of genes. The human genome, he notes, is riddled with transposons, DNA sequences that promote genetic instability by replicating and integrating into additional chromosomal locations.

To maintain genomic integrity, cells have surveillance systems that distinguish between transposons and normal genes and epigenetically silence the transposons to prevent their replication. “Recently, my group has found that one such system, human silencing hub (HUSH), interacts with specific RNA-binding proteins that have known roles in combating retroviral integrations in the human genome,” he says.

“Now, using cutting-edge techniques in cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry and RNA-protein interaction mapping, we will determine how RNA-binding proteins aid HUSH in the recognition of transcriptionally active transposons, how HUSH interacts with chromatin and RNA to silence these elements and how mutations in HUSH perturb these interactions.”

Given that HUSH functions as an RNA-mediated gene silencer, Kasinath adds, his work could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treating cancers and other human diseases associated with transposon invasion, by epigenetically silencing such translocations that often result in gene fusions through with cancer can manifest.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Pew!" Kasinath says. "I have interacted with many Pew scholars who have been incredibly supportive and generous with their time. This Pew award affirms my lab’s commitment to the exciting problems we are pursuing.”

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Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.'

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CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar

Kylie Clarke — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:45:20 +0000

CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar Kylie Clarke Wed, 07/16/2025 - 17:45

Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the �Թ�� of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy

Katherine Lininger, a �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder Department of Geography associate professor, has received a U.S. Fulbright Scholar award starting in fall 2025 to study and teach in Italy. The award is provided by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Scholarship Board.

The Fulbright award will allow Lininger to investigate interactions among floodplain vegetation, downed wood, water flows and sediment fluxes to better understand and predict changes in floodplains over time. With collaborators at the �Թ�� of Trento, she will conduct fieldwork, geospatial analyses and numerical modeling to understand ecogeomorphic processes in the Tagliamento River floodplain in northeastern Italy.

Additionally, Lininger will lecture in courses at the �Թ�� of Trento, lead field trips, give research seminars and mentor graduate students. She said her project will advance ecogeomorphic understanding of floodplains, which provide important ecosystem services, and will support her career trajectory and goals.

Katherine Lininger is an associate professor of geography whose research has mainly focused on large floodplain rivers. Her research methods include fieldwork, statistical modeling and remote sensing.

“I’m honored to take part in the Fulbright program and look forward to building internation connections and collaborations,” Lininger said. “With this award, I will work with researchers at the �Թ�� of Trento in Italy, investigating interactions between river flows, sediment fluxes and plants to better understand and predict physical and ecological changes in floodplains over time. Our work will inform management and restoration of river floodplains.”

Each year, more than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, artists and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Notable awards received by alumni include 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes and 82 McArthur Fellowships.

“The benefits extend beyond the individual recipient, raising the profile of their home institutions. We hope �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder can leverage Katherine Lininger’s engagement abroad to establish research and exchange relationships, connect with potential applicants and engage with your alumni in the host country,” the Fulbright Program said in its award announcement.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

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Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the �Թ�� of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy.

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CU Boulder biochemist wins prestigious fellowship

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:45:06 +0000

CU Boulder biochemist wins prestigious fellowship Rachel Sauer Mon, 06/30/2025 - 12:45

Blake Puscher

Postdoctoral researcher Nathan Bullen announced as a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellow, supporting his research on how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack

A �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder postdoctoral researcher specializing in biochemistry is one of 29 to be awarded a Jane Coffin Childs fellowship in 2025.

Nathan Bullen, a postdoctoral scholar in the CU Boulder Department of Biochemistry and the Aaron Whiteley Lab, studies how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack. As a Jane Coffin Childs (JCC) fellow, he will receive three years of salary funding to support his research out of the almost $8 million the JCC has committed to its fellows this year.

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (JCC Fund) is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in the United States. Established in 1937 to honor the memory of Jane Coffin Childs, who died from breast cancer in 1936, and to support cancer research, the JCC Fund has since expanded its mission to include fundamental basic scientific research into the causes and treatment of human disease.

Nathan Bullen, a postdoctoral scholar in the CU Boulder Department of Biochemistry and the Aaron Whiteley Lab, was awarded a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellowship.

Each year, the JCC Fund selects between 25 and 30 early-career postdoctoral fellows from a pool of more than 350 applicants and, to date, has helped more than 1,800 researchers to pursue a cure for cancer and other human diseases. Bullen and his Whiteley Lab colleagues are working toward this goal by studying immune systems and infectious diseases to develop next-generation therapeutics.

Supporting early-career scientists

In addition to furthering important biomedical research and improving human health, the JCC also helps its fellows advance their careers. Current JCC Fund fellows attend an annual symposium that includes career-development sessions and other activities intended to improve their scientific, communication and networking skills. Since its inception, the JCC Fund has produced many scientific leaders in their respective fields, including numerous Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators and seven Nobel laureates.

“These sorts of postdoc fellowship are important for trainees like Nathan because they demonstrate their ability to secure competitive funding,” says Aaron Whiteley, CU Boulder biochemistry assistant professor, head of the Aaron Whiteley Lab and a past JCC postdoctoral fellow. “They are an important step in building the resume required to run your own research group. Fellowships also help the labs that the fellows belong to, as they cover some of the cost of personnel, saving funding for experimentation.”

Bullen’s work in the Whiteley lab aims to shed new light on highly conserved systems related to RNA repair.

“Our lab is broadly focused on conserved immune pathways shared between bacteria and eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus),” Whiteley says. Because bacteria are easy to study, they provide a novel way to gain insight into the way these elements work in the human immune system.

According to Whiteley, the proteins involved in RNA repair are conserved between bacteria and humans. This is similar to how certain immune pathways are conserved, as outlined in a review article he and Hannah Ledvina wrote.

“While much of our work centers on immune pathways,” he says, “we’ve found that these similarities extend into more fundamental processes.”

One example of this is RNA repair, which is essential because of the vital roles that RNA plays in cells, including helping to produce proteins. Bullen is working in this area, specifically investigating how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack.

This project is still in its early stages, Whiteley says, but “we’re making strong progress and excited about where it is heading.”

Advancing research

The JCC fellowship recognizes not just the proposed research, but who the researcher is as a scientist. According to Whiteley, Bullen has a passion for pursuing interesting and meaningful questions. “That might sound obvious for a scientist, but it’s honestly not always the case,” he says. “A big part of being successful in research is knowing what makes for a good question, and I think Nathan has a well-tuned compass in that regard.

"My goal now is to live up to the opportunity and discover something genuinely cool about how the natural world works."

“He’ll probably say he’s very lucky to have been selected as a JCC fellow, which is true, but I’ll also add that Nathan did excellent work during his PhD and has big ideas for his postdoc. He has absolutely earned this opportunity. I’m very excited about the work he’s pursuing in the lab and I’m looking forward to the discoveries he’ll make over the next few years with the support of the JCCF.”

Bullen earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the �Թ�� of Waterloo and a PhD in biochemistry from McMaster �Թ��. He has been working at CU as a postdoctoral fellow since 2024.

“I’m incredibly honored to have been selected as a Jane Coffin Childs fellow,” Bullen says. “It’s hard to turn your passion into a career. Academia isn’t an easy road, and it comes with a lot of uncertainty. Awards like the JCCF are more than financial support; they’re a real vote of confidence in early-career scientists like me.

“These types of awards are basically saying: we like your ideas, and we think you can do something great. At this stage, that vote of confidence makes a huge difference. My goal now is to live up to the opportunity and discover something genuinely cool about how the natural world works. I am hopeful that the discoveries I make during my postdoc will serve as the foundation for my own independent research group in the future.”

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Postdoctoral researcher Nathan Bullen announced as a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellow, supporting his research on how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack.

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College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Registrar win award for efficiency improvements

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:27:57 +0000

College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Registrar win award for efficiency improvements Rachel Sauer Mon, 06/23/2025 - 11:27

Award was one of five given by the CU Office of �Թ�� Controller for demonstrating a commitment to streamlining operations

A collaboration between the �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Office of the Registrar to automate the major/minor declaration process has won an Office of �Թ�� Controller 2025 CU Innovation & Efficiency Award and a $1,000 prize.

By partnering with the Office of the Registrar, A&S was able to automate and streamline the process by which students update their majors/minors, eliminating paper forms and manual data entry, according to A&S representatives, who said the end result was improved student communication and increased staff productivity.

In place of paper forms, the new process includes an online OnBase form for A&S undergraduate students to declare an A&S minor, and a robot to automate and record changes, associated academic advisor assignments and student notification upon the completion of the request. As a result, A&S representatives said this process requires significantly less manual work to ready the spreadsheet for the robot system. Also, the OnBase form allows for immediate notification to the student when the change has been made and automatically saves the request form to the student’s electronic dean’s file.

“I’m extremely proud to be part of a team dedicated to innovation and student success. The A&S Academic Operations team motto is ‘Student Success is Our Success,’ and the development of the change-of-major robot allowed us to deliver on that by improving service for students and staff, as well as streamlining processes. Winning this award is truly an honor, as there were many other incredible submissions,” said Megan Stephenson, director of academic operations and student records for A&S.

“This award means the world to me, especially considering the large amount of other deserving projects that were submitted. Our nomination alone recognizes that our dedication to improving processes is not only noticed but modeled across campus. I am constantly grateful and thankful to work with this winning team,” added Donna O’Neill-Mika, A&S operations technician in the dean’s office.

Representatives said this process improvement is notable in part because A&S is the largest college on the CU Boulder campus and is responsible for processing upwards of 6,600 student-initiated academic-record update requests per year in Campus Solutions.

The Innovation & Efficiency Award was one of five total awards given out by the Office of �Թ�� Controller, which said each one “demonstrates a powerful commitment to streamlining operations, enhancing service and delivering measurable impact.” For more information on other award winners, click on this weblink.

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Award was one of five given by the CU Office of �Թ�� Controller for demonstrating a commitment to streamlining operations.

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CU Boulder scientist receives $1.25 million award for cancer research

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:12:44 +0000

CU Boulder scientist receives $1.25 million award for cancer research Rachel Sauer Wed, 06/18/2025 - 11:12

Edward Chuong is one of five researchers nationwide awarded funding to pursue ‘daring, paradigm-shifting research’ on cancer immunotherapy treatment

Edward Chuong, a �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a BioFrontiers Institute scientist, has been awarded $1.25 million by the New York City-based Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to pursue his cancer immunotherapy research.

Chuong was one of five researchers nationwide who received the unrestricted funding over a five-year period, which CRI said is designed to allow researchers to pursue high-risk, high-reward projects that could redefine cancer treatment. The organization called the researchers “scientific leaders poised to reshape cancer immunotherapy through daring, paradigm-shifting research.”

Edward Chuong, a CU Boulder assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a BioFrontiers Institute scientist, recently was awarded $1.25 million by the Cancer Research Institute to pursue cancer immunotherapy research.

“These are people who are hitting their stride scientifically and career-wise, and this is where you really want to put some jet fuel in the tank as they are getting established,” said Dr. E. John Wherry, associate director of CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council.

Echoing Wherry’s sentiment, Dr. Alicia Zhou, CRI chief executive officer, added, “Each of these researchers brings fearless curiosity and a willingness to challenge assumptions – the very qualities that drive breakthroughs. They aren’t just advancing cancer science; they are reinventing it.”

Chuong said he was surprised and honored to receive CRI funding for his research.

“As someone from an evolutionary biology background, this award means my outsider ideas are being welcomed into the cancer research community. It’s a huge boost,” he said.

Chuong’s research focuses on the role that ancient viral fragments in human DNA, called transposons, play in regulating immune cell signaling.

“Our lab started out exploring the evolution of transposons—bits of DNA derived from genetic parasites—and discovered they may function as hidden switches in our immune system,” Chuong said. “With this support, we’ll investigate how cancer cells hijack these switches to escape detection, and use that knowledge to develop new markers and therapies that make immunotherapy work better for more patients. I’m grateful to the Cancer Research Institute for supporting this unconventional perspective and I’m incredibly excited to see where it leads.”

Each year, CRI awards funding for scientists to pursue their research through its grant-making program honoring its founding scientific and medical director, Lloyd J. Old. The organization said its Lloyd J. Old STAR program—Scientists TAking Risks—is designed to provide long-term funding to mid-career scientists, giving them the freedom and flexibility to pursue research “at the forefront of discovery and innovation in cancer immunotherapy.”

CRI said its awards are given out based upon its “exceptional track record of identifying and supporting people who have had a major impact in immunotherapy.” The organization said its grants are not tied to a specific research project but rather support outstanding researchers based upon the quality and promise of researchers’ overall work.

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Edward Chuong is one of five researchers nationwide awarded funding to pursue ‘daring, paradigm-shifting research’ on cancer immunotherapy treatment.

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Farm-diversification research wins top international prize

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:03:33 +0000

Farm-diversification research wins top international prize Rachel Sauer Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:03

Clint Talbott

CU Boulder’s Zia Mehrabi is one of three researchers named international champions of the Frontiers Planet Prize for research that finds environmental and social benefits of agricultural diversification

Widespread agricultural diversification could improve the health of the world’s environment and that of its people, a landmark study published last year found.

Zia Mehrabi, assistant professor of environmental studies at the �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder, has been named one of three international champions in the Frontiers Planet Prize, the Frontiers Research Foundation announced today. Mehrabi and his team will receive $1 million in funding to advance their research.

The Frontiers Planet Prize celebrates breakthroughs in Earth system and planetary science that “address these challenges and enable society to stay within the safe boundaries of the planet’s ecosystem.” The prize puts scientific rigor and ingenuity at its heart, helping researchers worldwide accelerate society toward a green renaissance, the Frontiers Research Foundation says.

Zia Mehrabi, a CU Boulder assistant professor of environmental studies, has been named the U.S. national champion for the Frontiers Planet Prize. (Photo: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Professor Jean-Claude Burgelman, director of the Frontiers Planet Prize, said the planet faces immense threats that require bold, transformative solutions rooted in evidence and validated by science.

“Innovative yet scalable solutions are the only way for us to ensure healthy lives on a healthy planet,” Burgelman said. “By spotlighting the most groundbreaking research, we are helping scientists bring their work to the international stage and provide the scientific consensus needed to guide our actions and policies.”

Mehrabi, who leads the Better Planet Laboratory, was recognized, alongside his co-authors, for an article published last year in the journal Science titled “Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture.”

Laura Vang Rasmussen of the �Թ�� of Copenhagen in Denmark and Ingo Grass of the �Թ�� of Hohenheim in Germany were lead authors of the paper, which had 58 co-authors. Claire Kremen of the �Թ�� of British Columbia was a senior author and co-principal investigator on the study.

The researchers found that diversifying crops and animals and improving habitat, soil and water conservation on individual farms can improve biodiversity while improving or, at a minimum, not coming at a cost to yields. Additionally, diversified farming can yield social benefits and improve food security—showing improved food access or a reduced number of hungry months, for example, particularly in smallholder systems.

The more diversification measures farms employed, the more benefits accrued, researchers observed. Essentially, the team found evidence to move toward agriculture that more closely reflects natural systems.

“If you look at how ecosystems operate, it’s not just plants growing alone. It’s not just animals or soil,” Mehrabi said last year. “It’s all of these things working together.”

Using data from 2,655 farms across 11 countries and covering five continents, the researchers combined qualitative methods and statistical models to analyze 24 different datasets. Each dataset studied farm sites with varying levels of diversification, including farms without any diversification practices. This allowed the team to assess the effects of applying more diversification strategies.

Diversified farming differs from the dominant model of agriculture: growing single crops or one animal on large tracts of land. That efficient, “monoculture” style of farming is a hallmark of agriculture after the Green Revolution, which reduced global famine by focusing on high-yield crops that rely on fertilizers and pesticides.

“The Green Revolution did many, many great things, but it came with a lot of costs,” Mehrabi says, noting that synthetic fertilizers and pesticides harm the environment.

Also, to increase labor productivity, large farms rely on mechanization, which tends to “replace people with machines.”

“So, the idea of trying to engineer nature into our agricultural systems is somewhat antithetical to the whole way we think about agricultural development,” Mehrabi says.

Making a case for a different way of doing agriculture is one thing. Implementing it on a widespread basis is something else. The dominant view, fostered by “big ag” (short for agriculture), is that “if you want to do ag, you’ve got to do it this way,” Mehrabi says.

“If you look at how ecosystems operate, it’s not just plants growing alone. It’s not just animals or soil. It’s all of these things working together,” says Zia Mehrabi.

“Our work challenges that idea, but it’s a bit of a David-and-Goliath situation,” he adds. “We have the stone, but it hasn’t yet landed.”

But it’s necessary to confront Goliath, Mehrabi contends, noting that agriculture affects all the things people care about environmentally, including climate change, water security, biodiversity, pollution, land use and habitat destruction.

A third of the Earth’s land is used for agriculture, and about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture, he notes. Climate change has reduced agricultural yields by as much as 5% to 10% in the last four decades, research has shown.

“If we want to do something about environmental issues, agriculture is one of the big buckets that we need to really, really start in.”

Separate from the research published in Science, Mehrabi has done modeling of the future state of agriculture globallyif the world continues business-as-usual farming. He found that in the next century, the number of farms is likely to be cut in half and the average size of farms would likely double.

Given that, along with what scientists know about the loss of natural ecosystems as farm sizes increase, “the future looks a little bit bleak,” Mehrabi says. But this new research shows it could be different.

Though he does not suggest that all farms must be small farms, he does advise that agriculture strive to diversify systems that have been “massively depleted and massively simplified.”

�Թ�� the Frontiers Planet Prize, Mehrabi says he and his team are gratified to be recognized as one of three international champions. Additionally, he underscores the importance of the Frontiers Research Foundation’s financial commitment to this kind of research, calling it a “signal” to other funding entities that might follow suit.

“We need to really think about innovation in agriculture,” Mehrabi said. “We all need food to eat. We really need to innovate, and we should put money behind that. It’s worth it.”

Launched by the Frontiers Research Foundation on Earth Day 2022, the prize encourages universities worldwide to nominate their top three scientists working on understanding and putting forward pathways to stay within the safe operating space of nine planetary boundaries that are outlined by the Stockholm Resilience Center.

These nominations are then vetted at the national level, and the top scientists face an independent jury of 100—a group of renowned sustainability and planetary health experts chaired by Professor Johan Rockström—who vote for the National and International Champions.

Read a guest opinion by Zia Mehrabi and co-authors at this link. See a Q&A with Mehrabi about adding carbon-footprint labels on food at this link.

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