Harvard has named Daniel Cardozo Pinto and Wendy Valencia Montoya as two of its newest Junior Fellows, joining the prestigious Society of Fellows this year. They will begin their Fellowships in July.
Cardozo Pinto, who recently began his postdoctoral research in the lab of MCB’s Naoshige Uchida, will study the neuroscience of reward learning and addiction. Valencia-Montoya, currently a graduate student in the laboratories of MCB’s Nick Bellono and OEB’s Naomi Pierce, studies sensory biology of diverse animals, including beetles and octopus. After graduation in May, she will be doing postdoctoral research involving the Bellono and Ryan Nett labs as well as the Josefina del Mármol lab at Harvard Medical School. Her work will include studies in evolutionary biology, plant biochemistry, structural biology, and neuroscience.
The Harvard Society of Fellows was established in 1933 to support scholars at the beginning of their academic careers by providing them with the freedom and resources to pursue bold, independent research. Each year, the Junior Fellows Program selects 12 exceptional individuals from across disciplines, offering three-year appointments without formal requirements or teaching obligations. While the fellowship provides a stipend and community of scholars, Junior Fellows often partner with faculty to access laboratory space and equipment.
“I am thrilled to welcome Daniel and Wendy as Harvard Junior Fellows in MCB!” says MCB Chair Rachelle Gaudet. “They are exceptional young scientists, and I’m confident that they will thrive and make important discoveries with the support of their labs, the vibrant MCB community, and the broader Harvard ecosystem.”
Cardozo Pinto completed his PhD at Stanford University, where his research uncovered a long hypothesized opponent relationship between dopamine and serotonin in learning about natural rewards. At Harvard, Cardozo Pinto will deploy new experimental strategies to record and manipulate dopamine and serotonin neurons while delivering drugs of abuse intravenously in animal models. His goal is to compare how the brain responds to natural versus drug rewards—and to test how those signals go awry in addiction.
He emphasized the value of the Junior Fellows Program in supporting an ambitious, independent line of inquiry. “I knew that the Junior Fellows Program at Harvard was probably, the best program in the world for fostering that kind of environment,” he said. “You’re encouraged to pursue projects that are difficult, at the edge of what’s possible now.”
Cardozo Pinto was offered the Junior Fellowship while still at Stanford, just after accepting Uchida’s invitation to join his lab. He will pursue an independent project in close collaboration with Uchida.
Valencia-Montoya is completing her PhD at Harvard, where she is studying the evolution of signals and sensory systems in pollination mutualisms. She is now turning her attention to how insects that feed on neurotoxic plants have evolved mechanisms to resist these toxins and protect their neurons. Because certain plant neurotoxins have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, she believes that studying herbivores such as beetles can offer insights into the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. She is also interested in sensory signaling in plant-pollinator interactions as a model for understanding the evolution of complex communication systems.
Valencia-Montoya was drawn to the Society because of its intellectual breadth and emphasis on curiosity-driven research. She also studied a bit of history and philosophy alongside biology during her undergraduate programs. “Now that I will be a Fellow, I am excited to be part of a community that values interdisciplinary thinking and creativity. I also appreciate the freedom to pursue bold ideas, like using beetles and ancient plants as models to study neurodegeneration. The Fellowship allows me to follow these ideas wherever they lead, even if they fall outside traditional disciplinary or funding boundaries.”
