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Science & Tech
Opportunity to explore new pathways
Seven innovative research initiatives granted funds by Star-Friedman Challenge
The pursuit of scientific truth drives Harvard scholars into a diverse range of endeavors: sea slugs that appropriate body parts from other creatures, microwave resonator telescopes potent enough to uncover remnants of the Big Bang, and lab-cultivated human kidneys.
These highlight seven innovative research initiatives that have received funding this year through the Star-Friedman Challenge for Promising Scientific Research.
The program allocates initial funding for Harvard faculty to pursue investigations in life, physical, and social sciences. Star-Friedman champions significant research that may be overlooked by conventional funding avenues and motivates researchers to delve into new trajectories stemming from their earlier work.
Established in 2013 through a donation from James A. Star ’83 and subsequently expanded five years later with support from Josh Friedman ’76, M.B.A. ’80, J.D. ’82, and Beth Friedman, the 2025 awardees were acknowledged in a ceremony at University Hall on Wednesday.
Cellular underpinnings of organelle pilfering
Corey Allard, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School
Project: In what ways do certain species utilize body parts pilfered from other organisms? New revelations may emerge from sea slugs that have adapted to appropriate organelles (specialized structures within cells) from various species.
For instance, the so-called “solar-powered” sea slugs from the genus Elysia commandeer the chloroplasts of algae cells, utilizing them for photosynthesis for as long as one year. Other sea slugs from the genus Berghia appropriate stinging organelles from sea anemones and carry them on their backs to ward off predators.
Allard and his team will delve into the biological processes that permit these slugs to retain the appropriated organelles.
Goal: The long-term objective of this “slug-inspired” investigation is to engineer cells capable of harboring foreign organelles. This research may also yield insights into developing strategies to avert diseases caused by intracellular parasites such as tuberculosis and malaria.
Detecting water and the evolution of terrestrial adaptation in invertebrates
Josefina del Mármol, Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Project: A monumental event in the timeline of life occurred when aquatic organisms ventured onto land. The del Mármol team intends to examine one aspect of this enigma: What adaptations did ancient invertebrates undergo in their sensory organs for survival in terrestrial habitats?
Insects — the most numerous group of organisms on Earth — are thought to have developed humidity receptors from structures known as ionotropic variant receptors. These structures are still present in aquatic arthropods that do not possess a history of land adaptation and thus do not monitor air humidity.
This research will focus on how these structures function in species still residing in water, specifically American lobsters.
Goal: The team aims to uncover how invertebrates evolved the capability to gauge air humidity. The del Mármol lab is specialized in the investigation of olfaction in invertebrates, and this novel field of study — the neurobiology and evolution of sensory organs in early terrestrial species — indicates a new trajectory.
Illuminating the Big Bang using an innovative microwave resonator
John M. Kovac, Professor of Astronomy and Physics
Project: The Big Bang continues to generate ripples — and a research group at Harvard aspires to detect additional signals.
The Kovac team has established telescopes at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that are capable of scanning for faint radiation from the Big Bang, which occurred 14 billion years ago.
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is the earliest light in the universe and harbors secrets about its formation. One hypothesis suggests that primordial gravitational waves left subtle polarization patterns.
The advancement of telescopes capable of capturing these patterns is a critical goal for the realms of high-energy physics and cosmology.
To chart the microwave cosmos, these telescopes must sense minute fluctuations in thermal brightness within an environment billions of times more luminous. This demands sophisticated microwave optics maintained at cryogenic temperatures — a considerable technical challenge.
Goal: The team suggests a novel application of optical resonant cavities (an arrangement of components that persistently reflect the targeted spectrum) to examine microwave photons.
Similar technologies have previously been implemented in various fields: Laser cavities have been instrumental in detecting gravitational waves and microwave cavities have been useful in the search for dark matter particles.
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The group has already developed a promising prototype and aims to expand this research to a wider array of frequencies and temperatures, while also identifying the most effective materials.
Validating child-appropriate methods of global brain energetics to tackle emerging questions in the exploration of obesity, diabetes, and the influence of nutrition on healthy brain/cognitive growth
Christopher Kuzawa, Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology
Project: The human brain is a voracious organ. In adults, it constitutes only 2 percent of our total body weight but consumes roughly one-fifth of our total energy. In children, the brain is even more insatiable: It utilizes around two-thirds of resting energy at the age of 5.
Once the brain nears its full size, the peak energy requirement occurs during an intense phase of synapse creation and pruning, typically between ages 4 and 6. During this interval, bodily growth decelerates and body fat reaches its minimum throughout the human lifespan.
As brain energy needs diminish, children begin to regain body fat — a phenomenon termed the “adiposity rebound.” These processes have significant public health ramifications: Children who experience this rebound sooner often grow into heavier adults.
A deeper comprehension of these dynamics may also provide insights into chronic diseases like adult diabetes, as well as long-term outcomes such as education and income.
Goal: Addressing these inquiries necessitates more “child-friendly” methods for assessing brain energy usage. The conventional method — PET scans employing radioactive tracer dyes — is impractical for children.
Consequently, Kuzawa and his team suggest using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to measure cerebral blood flow as an indicator of brain energy usage.
However, this technique’s accuracy must be confirmed through comparison with other methods, and the researchers propose conducting a study involving 25 adults. If successful, these child-friendly MRI approaches could facilitate investigations into childhood brain energetics and their implications for public health.
Biofabrication of human kidney tissues for therapeutic purposes
Jennifer A. Lewis, Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering, and Jianming Yu Professor of Arts and Sciences, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science
Leonardo Riella, Harold and Ellen Danser Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Medical Director of Kidney Transplantation, Massachusetts General Hospital
Project: Chronic kidney disease impacts over one in seven adults in the U.S., accounting for more than 35 million individuals. Over 800,000 Americans endure end-stage renal failure, necessitating dialysis or kidney transplants. However, the demand for transplants is about four times greater than the number of kidneys donated annually.
Goal: Lewis and Riella aspire to create a groundbreaking new treatment for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease, aiming to engineer lab-generated kidneys from human stem cells.
They intend to utilize induced pluripotent stem cells to construct human kidney organoids in the laboratory and subsequently transplant miniature versions of these kidneys into mice to examine their functionality.
If successful, these methodologies could pave the way for manufacturing kidneys for human recipients.
How to regenerate a limb? Merging analyses of metabolism and developmental biology
Jessica Whited, Assistant Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
George V. Lauder, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor, Museum of Comparative Zoology
Project: Salamanders possess an admirable capability: they can regenerate lost limbs. This astonishing characteristic is often highlighted in biology textbooks, yet the energetic costs involved are poorly understood.
Whited and Lauder aim to uncover the molecular and metabolic transformations that take place during limb regeneration. Concentrating on a species of salamander known as axolotls, their goal is to determine a fundamental question: What is the energy expense of regrowing a limb?
The researchers hypothesize that salamanders support the regeneration process by elevating their metabolic rate through autophagy, a mechanism where cells break down their own components and repurpose the molecules for energy.
Goal: This research will reveal the biological regulators of limb regeneration and elucidate why these processes function in some species but not in others. The researchers
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I trust the research will yield understanding that could be utilized in human subjects who have experienced limb loss.
Transform the finest photovoltaics into novel high Tc superconductors; achieve atypical superconductivity in twisted perovskites
Suyang Xu, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ashvin Vishwanath, George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Physics
Project: Is it feasible to convert the most promising photovoltaic substances into high-temperature superconductors? This inquiry fuels a new collaboration between a theorist and an experimentalist in quantum materials.
Goal: Metal halide perovskites have shown exceptional efficiency as a material for solar cells. Now, the two researchers aim to leverage these materials for high-temperature superconductors.
They suggest that the twisted bilayer of metal halide perovskite could act as a basis for high-temperature superconductivity. In their proposal, they claim, “This apparently absurd notion is not just feasible … but encouraging.”
In this collaboration, Vishwanath will conduct theoretical analyses while Xu will spearhead the experimental efforts. If this endeavor succeeds, it could mark a revolutionary breakthrough. The researchers will also address theoretical inquiries and possibly bridge two emerging disciplines.