Allen Institute announces 2024 Next Generation Leaders
Fostering collaboration and innovation from emerging leaders in bioscience
Seattle, WASH.—December 19, 2024—Today, the Allen Institute announced eight distinguished scientists who will make up the 2024 Next Generation Leaders (NGL) in bioscience cohort. New this year, the program has expanded beyond neuroscience to welcome researchers from the fields of bioengineering, chemistry, and medicine. Their diverse and impressive range of research expertise includes social cognition, music mindfulness, and psychedelics, to using computational machine learning methods for single-cell omics to study inflammatory disease.
The program is run out of the Allen Institute’s Learning, Experience, and Development (LEaD) division.
“We are thrilled to welcome the newest class of Next Generation Leaders, who have been selected for their excellent research accomplishments to date as well as the promise of their future research directions. Each NGL also demonstrated an eagerness to foster cross-disciplinary collaborations and build up the scientific community more generally,” said Annique Bublitz, Director of LEaD. “The NGL Program has been a beloved part of the Allen Institute’s neuroscience community for years, and we are excited to broaden the program’s impact across all of the Institute’s research areas. We believe the expanded NGL community will strengthen networks across their respective fields and encourage the same sort of collaborative research we embody here at the Allen Institute.”
The 2024 Next Generation Leaders
1. Ismail Ahmed, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Utah
2. AZA Stephen Allsop, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Yale University
3. Jessica Butts, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Rice University
4. Rongxin Fang, Ph.D. – Incoming Assistant Professor, Stanford University
5. Kevin Kelley, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Stanford University
6. Mariajose Metcalfe, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Louisville
7. Wendy Xin, Ph.D. – Postdoc, University of California San Francisco
8. Fan Zhang, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Started in 2014, the Next Generation Leaders program recognizes and supports emerging and diverse early career researchers in bioscience. The program is designed to foster professional development, ideation, creativity, and collaboration to make a broad, transformational impact on the future of science at the Allen Institute.
Each year, NGLs present their research and engage with Allen Institute peers, where they can learn from one another and facilitate lasting bonds between their labs. The Allen Institute is also planning career development trainings and opportunities for the NGLs, with the aim of supporting their transitions to principal investigators.
“The NGL program enabled me to meet other early career investigators, which proved to be especially useful when I went on the faculty job market. Being part of a cohort gave me practical tips when setting up my laboratory,” said Jessica Tsai, M.D., Ph.D., a 2021 Next Generation Leader and pediatric oncologist. “I have also had the opportunity to participate in scientific advisory meetings and learned how to provide meaningful input and feedback to the Allen Institute in terms of scientific vision and research strategy. These are not skills that you would typically learn in scientific or postdoctoral training.”
NGLs complete a three-year term and can contribute to ongoing research across the Allen Institute; engage with team science, big science, and open science practices; and ultimately act as ambassadors for the Allen Institute and its open science resources.
About the Allen Institute
The Allen Institute is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded by philanthropist and visionary, the late Paul G. Allen. The Allen Institute is dedicated to answering some of the biggest questions in bioscience and accelerating research worldwide. The Institute is a recognized leader in large-scale research with a commitment to an open science model. Its research institutes and programs include the Allen Institute for Brain Science, launched in 2003; the Allen Institute for Cell Science, launched in 2014; the Allen Institute for Immunology, launched in 2018; and the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, launched in 2021. In 2016, the Allen Institute expanded its reach with the launch of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which identifies pioneers with new ideas to expand the boundaries of knowledge and make the world better. For more information, visit alleninstitute.org.
The program is run out of the Allen Institute’s Learning, Experience, and Development (LEaD) division.
“We are thrilled to welcome the newest class of Next Generation Leaders, who have been selected for their excellent research accomplishments to date as well as the promise of their future research directions. Each NGL also demonstrated an eagerness to foster cross-disciplinary collaborations and build up the scientific community more generally,” said Annique Bublitz, Director of LEaD. “The NGL Program has been a beloved part of the Allen Institute’s neuroscience community for years, and we are excited to broaden the program’s impact across all of the Institute’s research areas. We believe the expanded NGL community will strengthen networks across their respective fields and encourage the same sort of collaborative research we embody here at the Allen Institute.”
The 2024 Next Generation Leaders
1. Ismail Ahmed, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Utah
2. AZA Stephen Allsop, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Yale University
3. Jessica Butts, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Rice University
4. Rongxin Fang, Ph.D. – Incoming Assistant Professor, Stanford University
5. Kevin Kelley, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Stanford University
6. Mariajose Metcalfe, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Louisville
7. Wendy Xin, Ph.D. – Postdoc, University of California San Francisco
8. Fan Zhang, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Started in 2014, the Next Generation Leaders program recognizes and supports emerging and diverse early career researchers in bioscience. The program is designed to foster professional development, ideation, creativity, and collaboration to make a broad, transformational impact on the future of science at the Allen Institute.
Each year, NGLs present their research and engage with Allen Institute peers, where they can learn from one another and facilitate lasting bonds between their labs. The Allen Institute is also planning career development trainings and opportunities for the NGLs, with the aim of supporting their transitions to principal investigators.
“The NGL program enabled me to meet other early career investigators, which proved to be especially useful when I went on the faculty job market. Being part of a cohort gave me practical tips when setting up my laboratory,” said Jessica Tsai, M.D., Ph.D., a 2021 Next Generation Leader and pediatric oncologist. “I have also had the opportunity to participate in scientific advisory meetings and learned how to provide meaningful input and feedback to the Allen Institute in terms of scientific vision and research strategy. These are not skills that you would typically learn in scientific or postdoctoral training.”
NGLs complete a three-year term and can contribute to ongoing research across the Allen Institute; engage with team science, big science, and open science practices; and ultimately act as ambassadors for the Allen Institute and its open science resources.
About the Allen Institute
The Allen Institute is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded by philanthropist and visionary, the late Paul G. Allen. The Allen Institute is dedicated to answering some of the biggest questions in bioscience and accelerating research worldwide. The Institute is a recognized leader in large-scale research with a commitment to an open science model. Its research institutes and programs include the Allen Institute for Brain Science, launched in 2003; the Allen Institute for Cell Science, launched in 2014; the Allen Institute for Immunology, launched in 2018; and the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, launched in 2021. In 2016, the Allen Institute expanded its reach with the launch of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which identifies pioneers with new ideas to expand the boundaries of knowledge and make the world better. For more information, visit alleninstitute.org.
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Media Contact
Liz Dueweke, Sr. Communications and Media Relations Specialist
206-225-0596 | liz.dueweke@alleninstitute.org
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