The Boettcher Foundation has selected eight researchers, including four from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, to receive funding through the Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program.
The recipients, known as Boettcher Investigators, represent five of Colorado’s top research institutions: CU Anschutz, Colorado College, Colorado State University, National Jewish Health, and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Petter Bjornstad
The $1.88 million in awards support promising, early career scientific researchers, allowing them to establish their independent research and make it competitive for major federal and private awards. Recipients are awarded $235,000 in grant funding to sustain up to three years of biomedical research.
The CU Anschutz Boettcher Investigators and their research topics are:
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Petter Bjornstad, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine – Mechanisms underlying early
diabetic kidney disease
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Suet Nee Chen, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, Cardiology Division – Molecular genetics and
pathogenesis of inherited cardiomyopathies
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Andra Lee Dingman, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology – Chronic changes in
brain plasticity after neonatal stroke
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Sridharan Raghavan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine – Understanding genetic and non-
genetic contributors to diabetes risk
Suet Nee Chen
“This class of Boettcher Investigators are the example of Colorado’s innovation in bioscience research that aims to improve our preparation, response, and deepen our knowledge of human health issues,” said Katie Kramer, president and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation. “We are proud to support their expert work at this significant juncture in their research careers.”
Including the class of 2020, 76 Boettcher Investigators have received funding through the Webb-Waring program. Since 2010, Boettcher Investigators have gone on to earn a collective $80 million in subsequent independent research funding. Ninety-five percent of award recipients remain at Colorado research institutions, advancing the Foundation’s mission of keeping Colorado’s top scientific minds in the state.
“Colorado BioScience Association congratulates the 2020 Class of Boettcher Investigators,” said Jennifer Jones Paton, president and CEO of Colorado BioScience Association. “Boettcher Foundation and the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards support our state’s most promising scientific researchers. Our life sciences ecosystem applauds Boettcher Foundation’s investments in early-stage research and looks forward to collaborating with the newest Boettcher Investigators.”
Andra Lee Dingman
The Webb-Waring awards announcement comes one week after the Foundation announced its grantees of nearly $1 million in biomedical research funding to fight COVID-19 and potential future pandemics. The Boettcher Foundation has been a leading philanthropic supporter of biomedical research in Colorado dating back to the 1940s.
Rest of the 2020 Class
The other 2020 Class of Boettcher Investigators and their research topics are:
Colorado College
• Jennifer F. Garcia, PhD, assistant professor of molecular biology – RNA degradation and autophagy
Colorado State University
• Daniel Regan, DVM, PhD, assistant professor of cancer pathology – Tumor microenvironment
modulation of metastasis and anti-cancer drug response
Sridharan Raghavan
National Jewish Health
• James Scott-Browne, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical research – Transcriptional Control of T-cell Function
University of Colorado Boulder
• Justin Brumbaugh, PhD, assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology – Post-
transcriptional regulation and stem cell biology
Guest contributor: Boettcher Foundation
