Three Researchers Win NIH Grants

Three Columbia University research scientists won a total of $5.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to fund research over the next five years.

Peter Bearman, known for his innovative work on adolescent sexual networks and the influence of genes on same-sex preference, was the second-ever Columbia faculty member to win an NIH Pioneer Award.

Dana Pe’er, a computational biologist, and Frances Champagne, a neurobiologist, both received the NIH New Innovators Awards.

NIH Pioneer Awards, which were first administered four years ago, recognize scientists at any stage in their career who propose innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavior research. Bearman, the director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, will receive $2.5 million to identify to what extent each of the three competing autism theories—expanded criteria for diagnosing autism, environmental degradation, and genetic inheritance—can account for rising rates of autism cases.

The New Innovators Awards, started this year, recognize the promising work of scientists who are in the early years of their career. They are given to 29 researchers selected from over 2,100 applicants.

With the $1.5 million in NIH award funding, Pe’er will look at cancer-cell behavior and possible points in cell development where the behavior of cancer cells could be altered.
“I am studying how small changes in DNA change the way cells compute and make decisions and how they alter those decisions under different conditions,” Pe’er said.

Champagne, assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior in the department of psychology, hopes to use the funds to explores the nature vs. nurture question, investigating how mothers shape their offspring and patterns of maternal care across generations. Both Pe’er and Champagne have been at Columbia only one year.

“I’m ecstatic about the grant. It is hard to get support anywhere in the world when you are first starting out. Columbia has helped me get things started, but this grant will allow me keep things going and keep progressing,” said Champagne.

Ashley Pandolfi can be reached at ashley.pandolfi@columbiaspectator.com.