Research Triangle Park, N.C. — The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of its Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program (PDEP), which provides critical support to postdoctoral researchers pursuing careers in biomedical and medical research.
This year, BWF has selected 30 exceptional postdocs for the Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program Award, including five supported through a partnership with the Charles H. Revson Foundation.
“The PDEP provides enrichment support at a critical stage in a scientist’s career,” said Alfred Mays, Chief Diversity Officer of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. “We are inspired by the creativity, drive, and scientific excellence of this year’s cohort.”
Each PDEP award provides up to $60,000 over three years to support career development activities, research, and networking opportunities that can help bridge the transition from postdoctoral fellow to faculty member. Since its inception, the program has supported hundreds of postdoctoral researchers, many of whom have gone on to successful careers as independent investigators, mentors, and institutional leaders.
The 2025 recipients are:
April Joy Aralar, PhD
University of California-San Diego
Investigation of Human Anti-Staphylococcal Antibody Responses to Improve Vaccine Development Against S. aureus
Mentor: George Liu, M.D., PhD
Mitchell Julian Bartlett, PhD
University of Arizona
Cervical Lymphatic Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Novel Target to Improve Amyloid-Beta Clearance and Cognitive Function
Mentors: Marlys Witte, MD and Paulo Pires, PhD
Jonathan Burnie, PhD
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Uncovering the Antigenic Landscape of Simian Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses
Mentor: Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD
Jim Castellanos, MD, PhD
Rockefeller University
Molecular Dynamics of Tissue Repair in Burns
Mentor: Elaine Fuchs, PhD
Revson Scholar
Jose Delgado, PhD
University of California-Los Angeles
Mitochondrial Pathogen Sensing Mechanisms for Cellular Immunity
Mentor: Lena Pernas, PhD
Martin Douglass, PhD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Defining the mechanisms employed by Clostridioides difficile during microbial warfare
Mentor: Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH
Reyaz Gonzalez, PhD
University of Michigan
Elucidating the catalytic mechanism of methyl-coenzyme M reductase for therapeutic and biotechnological innovation
Mentor: Stephen Ragsdale, PhD
Kevin Guzman, MD
Columbia University
Leveraging Unsupervised Data Analytics to Determine Early Predictors of Tuberculosis and HIV Medication Non-Adherence and Clinical Outcomes
Mentor: Max O’Donnell, MD, MPH
Revson Scholar
Anthony Harris, PhD
Stanford University
Using Single-Molecule Sequencing to Probe Meiotic Chromatin Organization and Double- Strand Breaks
Mentor: Nicolas Altemose, D.Phil., PhD
Robert Hincapie, PhD
Columbia University
Biomimetic Glycan Engineering to Decode and Direct Immunity
Mentor: Santiago Correa, PhD
Revson Scholar
Ivor G. Joseph, PhD
New York University
Decoding Sensory Neuron Function in the Regulation of Adipose Tissue
Mentors: Farnaz Shamsi, PhD and Kara Margolis, MD
Revson Scholar
Victoria Laney, PhD
University of Illinois Chicago
MR molecular imaging for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A plectin-1 gadopiclenol based approach
Mentor: Thomas Royston, PhD
Haider Syed Manzer, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Mechanism and impacts of pathogen-mediated remodeling of the neonatal intestine
Mentor: Joseph Zackular, PhD
Shenee Martin, PhD
University of Washington
Post traumatic sleep disruption drives synaptic dysfunction via tau mislocalization to synapses
Mentor: Jeffrey Iliff, PhD
Vik Meadows, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
A Tale of Two Organs: Understanding How the Liver Regulates Intestine and Microbiota in Cholestatic Liver Disease
Mentor: Paul Monga, MD
Diana Sofia Valverde Mendez, PhD
Yale University
Exploring biofilm heterogeneity using a novel lineage tracing methodology
Mentor: Jing Yan, PhD
Nicolle Rosa Mercado, PhD
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
mRNA dynamics during glucose starvation and recovery in human cells
Mentor: Rachel Green, PhD
Louis Parham, PhD
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Defining changes in the autophagy degradome during aging in the small intestine
Mentor: Christina Towers, PhD
Kimberly Kamille Diaz Perez, PhD
Brown University
Investigating the pausing of RNA polymerases and RNA modifications as regulators of human gene expression
Mentor: Vivian Cheung, MD
Julio Macias Pimentel, PhD
University of California – San Diego
Delineating the role of CYLD in regulating thrombin-stimulated GPCR-p38 MAPK activation in triple-negative breast cancer
Mentor: JoAnn Trejo, PhD
Nicklas Ezra Sapp, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Structural Basis for Chromosome Passenger Complex Enrichment at Centromeric Chromatin
Mentor: Ben Black, PhD
Keanu Shadron, PhD
Columbia University
The neural basis of an innate preference for conspecific vocalizations
Mentor: Sarah Woolley, PhD
Victoria Stephens, PhD
Vanderbilt University
TFAM to the Rescue: Modulating CD4+ T Cell Inflammation and Metabolism in HIV
Mentors: Antentor Hinton, PhD and Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD
Donté Alexander Stevens, PhD
Scripps Research Institute – La Jolla
Engineering Synthetic Biomolecular Condensates as a Platform for Targeted Protein Degradation.
Mentor: Keren Lasker, PhD
Alexis Victoria Stutzman, PhD
Columbia University
Determining the role of extracellular vesicles in intergenerational inheritance of stress
Mentor: Bianca Marlin, PhD and Stavros Lornvardas, PhD
Ashley Toney, PhD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Illuminating Microbiota-Host Metabolic Crosstalk in Diabetes
Mentor: Apollo Stacy, PhD
Samara Vilca, PhD
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Cross-species multiomic analysis of opioid use disorder
Mentors: Dorothy Schafer, PhD and Ryan Logan, PhD
Michelle Villegas-Downs, PhD
University of Illinois – Chicago
Advancing Postpartum Health Equity: Remote Surveillance and Education for Morbidity and Mortality Prevention
Mentor: Judith Schlaeger, PhD
Kellie Williford, PhD
Duke University School of Medicine
Brain networks underlying cocaine craving
Mentor: Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD and Kay Tye
Edric Winford, PhD
Columbia University
Adaptive Immunity and Alzheimer’s Risk in Offspring with Parent History
Mentors: Jennifer Manly, PhD and Wassim Elyaman, PhD
Revson Scholar
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent private foundation dedicated to advancing biomedical sciences by supporting research and education. Through initiatives like PDEP, BWF aims to cultivate a diverse scientific workforce equipped to tackle the complex health challenges of the future.
The Charles H. Revson Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grantmaking organization founded in 1956 with a commitment to “the spread of knowledge” and “the improvement of human life,” making grants in the areas of urban affairs, education, Jewish life, and biomedical research.
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