Early Career Researchers

The NHLBI has invested Recovery Act funds in providing research employment opportunities for scientists in the early years of their careers. This is a pivotal time when securing funding can be the deciding factor in an investigator’s decision on whether to proceed with a career in science. The NHLBI supports the full-time equivalent of pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral trainees or fellows, or recent bachelor's or master's degree graduates, as well as research supplements to promote diversity in health-related research.

The Recovery Act has enabled the NHLBI to foster the careers of hundreds of America’s future biomedical leaders while meeting the core objectives of the stimulus package: creating jobs and investing in the future of America’s biomedical research.

Recovery Act Supports New Faculty at Biomedical Core Centers

Through grants funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the NIH and NHLBI are supporting America’s next generation of scientists by providing institutions with funding to hire new faculty to augment or expand their biomedical research efforts. These biomedical core centers focus on areas of research relevant to NIH. The grants provide institutions with the resources needed to develop pilot research projects, as well as appropriate start-up packages for new faculty.

In September 2009, the NHLBI awarded $20,228,620 in P30 grants to 35 institutions in 27 states to support heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related research. Institutions will match the two-year P30 grants with two additional years of funding so that the new faculty members will have at least a four-year tenure.

Meet some of these new faculty members:

Jaehyung "Gus" Cho, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Intravital Microscopy for Development and Therapy of Vascular Diseases Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $626,847

Viviana Ferreira, D.V.M., Ph.D. Assistant Professor on Tenure Track, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio The Role of Complement Proteins in Cardiovascular Disease Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $655,023

Lie Gao, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska Support for the recruit of a tenure track faculty member, Lie Gao, M.D., Ph.D. Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $556,414

Anthony N. Gerber, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado Fostering Collaborations and the Career of a Newly Recruited Pulmonary Scientist Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $543,309

Nikki Jernigan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico Building Core Programs in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Administered by the NHLBI Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Office of the Director FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $600,210

Kristen Knutson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois New Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Sleep Disorders Research Program Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $616,348

Anna P. Lam, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois Recruitment of New Faculty to Enhance Research in Lung Biology Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $257,724

Jayaraj Rajagopal, M.D. Pulmonologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts Center for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) Support for New Faculty Member Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $677,965

Bryan J. Williams, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota Supporting New Faculty Recruitment through Biomedical Research Core Center Administered by the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases, Airway Biology and Disease Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $578,335

Scott Witting, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana New Faculty Recruitment to the Indiana University Gene Therapy Program Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Blood Diseases Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $407,810

Lei Yang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor and Director, Stem Cell Core, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Faculty Recruitment and Core Resource Development in Stem Cell Biology Administered by the NHLBI Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapeutics Branch FY 2009 Recovery Act Funding: $660,467