A Record Four Researchers Win NIH Director's Awards

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is investing nearly $12 million in four College of Engineering faculty members this fall through its prestigious program for outside-the-box thinkers. It’s the most recipients in a single year for Georgia Tech.

Biomedical engineer Gabe Kwong will receive $5.5 million over five years through an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award — the first such award for a faculty member at the Institute. Three others have won New Innovator Awards: John Blazeck in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Felipe Quiroz in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Aaron Young in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Each will receive approximately $2 million to pursue creative, but risky ideas.

The NIH funding is for high-impact ideas that might be too early in their development to secure other research grant funding.

“The science advanced by these researchers is poised to blaze new paths of discovery in human health,” said Lawrence A. Tabak, acting director of NIH. “This unique cohort of scientists will transform what is known in the biological and behavioral world. We are privileged to support this innovative science.”

Read more about the four projects on the College of Engineering website.