Jeffery Cox, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology University of California, San Francisco Dr. Cox studies how the bacterium that causes tuberculosis evades the immune system. He will examine how a particular family of proteins alters the immune response of infected persons and whether these proteins could be promising targets for new treatments. Chuan He, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry University of Chicago Dr. He has developed a novel method for stabilizing interactions between DNA and the proteins that repair genetic defects. He will apply this technique to understand how DNA damage leads to cancer with hopes of developing new treatments or preventatives. Gavin MacBeath, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology Harvard University Dr. MacBeath studies the biochemical signals that cells use to communicate with each other. He plans to map out the interactions involving one family of proteins and study how interruptions of individual proteins affect the chemical signaling. Samuel Wang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology Princeton University Dr. Wang is using methods he recently developed to study the design and function of the cerebellum, which coordinates sensory and motor functions in the brain. With a fundamental understanding of cerebellar dysfunction he hopes to develop insights into movement disorders, such as those associated with autism. Elizabeth Winzeler, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology Scripps Research Institute Dr. Winzeler is identifying the genes that are active in every life phase of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Knowing which genes turn on at specific stages of the infection cycle will better explain the host-parasite relationship and may lead toward new treatments.