Five Early-Career Immunologists Receive $150,000 Each from Michelson Foundation

Federal funding for early-career researchers in the biomedical sciences has faced sustained pressure, with uncertainty around grant renewal cycles and flat or declining budgets from the National Institutes of Health affecting scientists at the most vulnerable stages of their careers. Private foundations filling part of that gap occupy a different niche: they can fund higher-risk proposals that federal review panels, under pressure to back established methodologies, sometimes decline.

Michelson Medical Research Foundation, founded in 1995 by Dr. Gary K. Michelson, has positioned its Michelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants program explicitly as a vehicle for that kind of early-stage, high-risk support. The 2026 cohort - the eighth in the program's history - is its largest, awarding $150,000 each to five early-career scientists whose work spans the breadth of contemporary immunology.

The 2026 Recipients and Their Projects

Benjamin Morehouse, PhD, University of California, Irvine is investigating an enzyme that was previously overlooked in the context of human innate immunity. His team identified a conserved enzyme with structural parallels to bacterial immune signaling proteins - a finding that suggests it may play a role in how human cells respond to infection. If the gene's function is confirmed, it could represent a therapeutic entry point for autoimmune disorders and systemic inflammatory conditions where current targets are inadequate.

Theodore Roth, MD, PhD, Stanford University is pursuing what he describes as non-evolved immune cell states: combinations of genetic modifications that produce T cell phenotypes with properties not found anywhere in nature. The logic is that natural selection has only explored a small fraction of the functional space available to immune cells. By applying combinatorial genetic engineering, Roth's group aims to access immune cell states with enhanced capabilities for recognizing and destroying tumor cells, potentially expanding the reach of cellular immunotherapy.

Inta Gribonika, PhD, Lund University is working on skin-based immunity, specifically on how the common skin commensal bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis stimulates antibody responses in the skin. Most vaccine platforms deliver antigens by injection or orally; topical vaccination - applying antigens directly to skin - has long been hampered by incomplete understanding of how the skin generates protective humoral immunity. Gribonika's research on host-microbiota interactions in cutaneous immune responses aims to provide the mechanistic foundation for effective topical vaccine strategies.

Joshua Gray, PhD, Columbia University is focused on a specific problem in infant immunology: how localized interactions between CD4-positive T cells and B cells in mucosal tissues shape the antibody responses that protect infants against respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens. Using spatial transcriptomics - a technology that maps gene expression to specific locations within tissue - and organoid models, Gray aims to characterize the tissue architecture that enables mucosal antibody production in the first months of life, with the goal of informing vaccine designs that elicit protection from birth rather than requiring multiple doses over months.

Mohamad Abedi, PhD, University of Washington is applying computational protein design to create cytokines that activate conditionally - specifically in contexts like the tumor microenvironment rather than throughout the body. Cytokines are signaling proteins that direct immune responses; several are used therapeutically, but their use is limited by serious systemic toxicity when they activate in healthy tissues. Abedi's approach uses de novo protein design to engineer cytokines whose activity is gated by conditions specific to disease sites, potentially enabling precise immune activation with substantially reduced off-target effects in cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune treatment.

Why This Cohort Is the Largest

MMRF noted that this year's expanded cohort reflects a surge in exceptional applications, which the foundation attributes in part to reduced federal funding certainty. As competitive NIH funding rates have declined and early-career grant mechanisms face pressure, researchers are increasingly seeking private foundation support to maintain research programs and attract trainees. The foundation framed the expansion as a deliberate response to the funding environment.

"Early-career scientists are facing unprecedented constraints in federal funding, yet they continue to propose bold, imaginative science," said Dr. Gary K. Michelson. "We are proud to help elevate these visions and ensure that catalytic ideas receive the support they need."

The 2026 recipients were selected by a committee of internationally recognized scientists. Their work collectively spans innate immunity, T cell engineering, mucosal immunology, skin immunology, and computational protein design - reflecting the range of approaches being brought to bear on vaccine and immunotherapy development.