Elizabeth Pollina, PhD, an assistant professor of developmental biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named to the 2024 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars. She is one of seven early-career scientists recognized this year by the foundation for innovative approaches to important scientific questions that address global problems. The scholars each will receive up to $110,000 per year for up to five years to support their research.
(Photo: WashU Medicine)
Pollina’s lab is focused on understanding the biology of aging and longevity, especially across the diverse cell types of the nervous system. Her award from the Rita Allen Foundation will help her to characterize new DNA repair mechanisms in neurons that function to promote cognition across life span. Her team also is pioneering interdisciplinary approaches to examine how lifestyle factors, such as diet and sleep, impact neuronal transcription and genome repair in aging and neurological disease.
Since 1976, the Rita Allen Foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants to early-career biomedical scientists, helping them establish labs and pursue high-risk and potentially high-reward research. Rita Allen Foundation Scholars have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize in Medicine, among other honors.