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Professors Kimberly Cooper and Elizabeth Villa of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, have been selected by the Pew Charitable Trusts as members of its 2024 class of Innovation Fund Investigators.

Cooper and Villa are among eight pairs of researchers selected nationally to lead interdisciplinary research projects exploring fundamental questions in human biology and disease.

Cooper, of the Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, and Villa, of the Department of Molecular Biology, will examine cellular functions essential for mammalian growth. Their project will study the functioning of chondrocytes, specialized cells located at the ends of bones, during bone growth.

A total of 16 Pew Innovation Fund researchers will combine their expertise in areas ranging from cell biology and immunology to neuroscience and genetics with the goal of advancing scientific discovery and improving human health.

“Now more than ever, interdisciplinary approaches are essential to solving the world’s most pressing scientific challenges,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and Scientific Progress. “Through their innovative research projects, these exceptional researchers draw on their diverse areas of scientific research to advance biomedical research, and Pew is proud to support them.” »

Chondrocytes are cells present in cartilage tissue. In mammals, they are known to swell massively and secrete large proteins that aid in bone growth. But how chondrocytes function in a swollen state remains a mystery. Cooper and Villa will join forces to answer this question. By combining Cooper’s extensive experience in skeletal biology and Villa’s expertise in structural cell biology, the researchers plan to examine the mechanisms behind this swelling and protein secretion, creating high-resolution 3D images of biological samples to closely examine chondrocytes and their function. This collaborative work could reveal key information about cellular functions fundamental to the growth of all mammals.

Pew launched the Innovation Fund in 2017 to support scientific collaboration among alumni of its biomedical programs in the United States and Latin America. The prize is supported by the Kathryn W. Davis Peace by Pieces Fund and a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation.

The full list of 2024 Innovation Fund researchers (available here).

— With information from the Pew Charitable Trusts