BU Life Science Researchers including Hariri Fellow Win $1 Million Award

This year, the first Kilachand Fund Awards were given to three research project teams. The Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering was created when Rajen Kilachand gifted Boston University with $115 million in 2018, $100 million of which went to establishing an endowment dedicated to interdisciplinary research and finding solutions to the problems of today and tomorrow.

Among the teams to receive this research award were Professor of Biomedical Engineering Christopher Chen, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Allyson Sgro, and Assistant Professor of Physics Pankaj Mehta, who are researching multicellular design and how cells collectively operate in the human body. The team was awarded $1 million, which will kick-start their Multicellular Design Program at BU. According to Chen, their research could “uncover new ways to fight infections and cancer, heal wounds, or regenerate organs.”

In addition to being a Co-PI to the Multicellular Design Program, Allyson Sgro is also a Junior Faculty Fellow (JFF) at the Hariri Institute of Computing. The JFF Program recognizes outstanding computational and/or data-driven researchers to bring together a cohort of members who participate in intellectual exchanges and probe the possibilities of interdisciplinary collaborations.

Read more about the other teams and their research: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2019/09/24/three-bu-research-teams-win-first-kilachand-fund-awards/.