MCB faculty Jeeyun Chung has both received a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience and a Charles H. Hood Foundation Child Health Research Award.
Issued by the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund in collaboration with the Simons Foundation, the Klingenstein-Simons award provides funding to early career researchers who are establishing their own labs in the basic or clinical neurosciences. “This award will support our studies regarding how fat storage organelles regulate lipid metabolism and neuronal functions in the brain,” Chung explains. “We are grateful for the support from the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship, enabling us to elucidate the underappreciated roles of lipid organelle biology in brain function across health and disease spectrums.”
The Charles H. Hood Foundation supports New England based scientists whose research has bearing on children’s health. Chung is investigating how small fat storage organelles, known as lipid droplets, in motor neurons contribute to a condition called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). Starting in childhood, HSP causes weakness and stiffness in the legs, as well as developmental delays and intellectual disabilities.
Chung’s colleagues are pleased to see her research receive attention and support. “Jeeyun is an outstanding scientist, and I am thrilled that her work has been recognized by two highly competitive funding agencies, the Klingenstein Foundation and the Charles H. Hood Fund,” says MCB faculty Catherine Dulac, who mentors Chung. Dulac adds, “Jeeyun research projects will address a fundamental, yet poorly understood aspect of cell biology, which is the function of lipid storage in healthy and diseased brains. These exciting research projects should shed new light into mechanisms of lipid metabolism in different neuronal types and could lead to potential new strategies for diagnostic and treatment of debilitating disorders associated with lipid storage such as Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.”
“It is wonderful that Jeeyun has received these awards, which will support her studies of lipid metabolism in neurons,” says MCB and Applied Physics faculty Daniel Needleman. “She is engaged in really cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research at the interface between cell biology and metabolism. Not only does Jeeyun’s work have potential implications for understanding and treating diseases, but she is also uncovering fundamental principles of organelle function.”
MCB Chair Rachelle Gaudet agrees. “Jeeyun’s research on the cell biology of lipids in neurons is so fascinating and important,” she says. “I’m excited for Jeeyun to receive this award, especially because the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship includes opportunities to connect with other awardees at an annual meeting.”
Chung adds that she is grateful to her colleagues both at Harvard and elsewhere for their help. “I would like to thank Catherine [Dulac], Venki [Murthy], and Nao [Uchida] for their enormous support in establishing a lab for neuro-direction research,” she says. “I also truly appreciate the warm mentorship from Ya-Chieh [Hsu of SCRB], who provides invaluable guidance. “I would like to thank our long-term collaborator, Dr. Joongkyu Park, at Wayne State University, for the endless support from the MCB administrative team,” she adds. “Most importantly, this wouldn’t be possible without the amazing and passionate trainees in my lab. I am truly thankful to work with them!”
Please join us in congratulating Jeeyun Chung!
