The Pew Charitable Trust announced today that Ed Chapman, PhD, professor of neuroscience in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, is one of a dozen leading “Innovation Fund” researchers who will collaborate “to address some of the leading questions in human biology and disease.”
Chapman will share a $200,000 grant over two years with Dorit Hanein, PhD, of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. The two will investigate the structure of proteins needed for cellular membrane fusion.
Chapman, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, is an expert in the area of fusion proteins, which allow neurotransmitters to relay signals between neurons. Hanein’s expertise is in structural biology. Their project is titled “Defining 3D nanoscale architecture of the exocytotic fusion machinery.”
“Many cutting edge discoveries emerge when scientists from different backgrounds and viewpoints combine their knowledge,” says Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts. “We’re excited to encourage these collaborations … to pursue scientific advances and improve human health.”