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The Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute (Picker ISI) has announced this year’s awards supporting interdisciplinary research, training, and student-centered scholarship at 91�鶹��Ʒ. The funded projects unite 91�鶹��Ʒ faculty, students, and external partners to combine complementary expertise, build new tools and datasets, and address high-impact questions that cannot be solved within a single discipline. Picker ISI’s expanded funding categories support interdisciplinary work at every stage. Opportunities include major and minor research grants and scholarly leaves to support collaborative projects, micro-grants for pilot projects, training grants, training workshops, funding to bring external faculty to campus, and the new Picker ISI Scholars program to support student-led research. 

“This year’s awards highlight both the intellectual range of interdisciplinary work at 91�鶹��Ʒ and our commitment to supporting it in more targeted ways,” says Professor of Biology and Mathematics Ahmet Ay, director of the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute. “Together, these programs create meaningful, hands-on opportunities for students to participate in research and training alongside faculty and external partners.”

This year, Picker ISI awards include three major grants, one minor grant, an interdisciplinary training grant, an interdisciplinary training workshop grant, and three Picker ISI Scholars awards.

Major and Minor Grants

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Ewa Galaj and Associate Professor of Chemistry Jacob Goldberg have received an award of $70,000 for their project “Investigating the Role of Zinc in Heroin Addiction.” There is limited but compelling evidence that zinc might play a role in opioid addiction, but exactly how it may be involved in the underlying neurochemical pathways is poorly understood. This project will identify the location of zinc stores in brain regions associated with addiction and will investigate a potential causal role of zinc in addictive behaviors. This project will foster interdisciplinary work that is needed in drug discovery research focused on finding effective pharmacological interventions for addiction.

Associate Professor of Anthropology Santiago Juarez and Josuhé Lozada Toledo, archaeologist at Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, have received an award of $73,052 for their project, “Immersive Archaeology at Iglesia Vieja: Rebuilding Ancient Worlds through Digital Reconstructions of Earth and Sky,” which combines spatial analysis and the creation of virtual environments at the archaeological site of Iglesia Vieja in Chiapas, Mexico. This project, conducted in collaboration with the Ho Tung Visualization Lab (directed by Joseph Eakin), combines methods from archaeology, computer-generated imagery, and astronomy to test how astronomical alignments structured ceremonial behavior and shaped the ways people moved through and experienced monumental space. The interdisciplinary research will include high-resolution mapping, lidar, photogrammetry, and targeted excavations to evaluate architectural alignments, landscape relationships, and patterns of regional interaction. Using advanced spatial modeling and digital reconstruction, the team will generate a three-dimensional model of the site to assess whether Iglesia Vieja functioned primarily as a ritual center integrated into broader networks or as an independent regional outpost.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Gongfang Hu and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Stephanie E. Sanders have received an award of $62,117 for their project “Sunlight-Driven Carbon Dioxide Conversion with Cost-Effective Metal Compounds.” The project aims to use light to drive the conversion of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into useful fuels. They will examine the use of bimetallic Bismuth-Nickel complexes as potential catalysts for artificial photosynthesis. The synergy of the advantageous properties of the two low-cost metals has the potential to overcome traditional shortcomings in artificial photosynthesis catalysts. Using a variety of spectroscopic techniques, the ability of the complexes to absorb, store, and transfer energy from light will be examined. The ability of the bimetallic complexes to drive chemistry after absorbing light will also be measured by tracking the conversion of carbon dioxide. The results of this project will form the basis of improving molecular design of bimetallic catalysts for low-cost, efficient artificial photosynthesis.

Minor Grant

Karen Harpp, professor of earth and environmental geosciences at 91�鶹��Ʒ; Andrew Bell, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh; Peter LaFemina, professor doctor of geophysics at the University of Bremen; and Mario Ruiz, director at Escuela Politécnica Nacional, have received a Picker ISI Minor Grant award of $29,990 for their project, “Understanding Volcanic Island Evolution in the Galápagos: A Pilot Implementation of a Small, Multi-Parametric Geophysical Network.” The project will install a long-term broadband seismometer and Global Navigation Satellite System station on San Cristóbal Island, expanding current monitoring coverage to the eastern Galápagos and extending the network’s effective aperture by approximately 250 km. The new seismic and geodetic data will improve constraints on regional earthquakes and fault systems and support initial imaging of crust and upper mantle structure, while laying groundwork for future network expansion and student research opportunities in partnership with Ecuador’s Instituto Geofísico, the Galápagos National Park, and the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Interdisciplinary Training Grant

Raab Family Chair and Professor of Biology Damhnait McHugh has received an interdisciplinary training grant of $4,300. She will spend several weeks during her sabbatical leave in fall 2026 working with experts in the NSF-funded ancient biomolecular lab at the in New York City to become proficient in ancient DNA analyses of marine shelled organisms. The AMNH AbLab is a unique multi-user space where hosts provide access to multiple types of equipment and consumable materials for on-site trainees. McHugh’s goal is to set up a clean space to work with ancient DNA at 91�鶹��Ʒ, to train her students in consistently successful techniques, and to provide preliminary data to support an upcoming NSF proposal that expands on a Picker-ISI funded research project with Paul Harnik (earth and environmental geosciences) and Rebecca Metzler (physics and astronomy). That project includes analysis of aDNA for historical population analyses of clams across spatial and temporal environmental gradients across the Gulf of Mexico.

Interdisciplinary Training Workshop Grant

Assistant Professor of Computer Science Noah Apthorpe has received a $5,000 Picker ISI Interdisciplinary Training Workshop Grant for a workshop on “AI-Powered Machine Learning for Research Across the University.” The workshop will introduce 91�鶹��Ʒ faculty and students to practical machine learning techniques for research data analysis, including data preparation, model training, and results assessment. No prior machine learning or programming experience will be required, as participants will learn to use and critically evaluate generative AI tools for building and customizing machine learning pipelines. The workshop will emphasize hands-on application, with participants encouraged to bring their own research data. Information Technology Services will provide technical support during and after the workshop, planned for June 4–5, 2026. 

Picker ISI Scholars

Richelle Gao ’27 has been awarded a Picker ISI Scholar award for her research project, “Biomarker-Driven Diagnostic Modeling to Complement Urine Cytology in Urothelial Carcinoma.” Working under the dual mentorship of Bineyam Taye, associate professor of biology and global public and environmental health, and Professor Jian Yu Yao, vice chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UCLA Health, Gao will aim to improve the diagnostic sensitivity of high-grade urothelial carcinoma by integrating molecular biomarker analysis with quantitative machine learning models to complement traditional urine cytology techniques. By combining automated chemiluminescence immunoassays with statistical validation and classification modeling, the team will transform biomarker measurements into standardized, clinically actionable diagnostic insights. The goal of this research is to develop a data-driven diagnostic tool that supports clinicians in making rapid, accurate, and personalized therapeutic decisions for patients with urothelial carcinoma.

Ray Ou ’28, a psychological science and economics double major, has received a Picker ISI Scholar award for the project “The Hidden Costs of Strategic Secrecy.” Working under the dual mentorship of W.S. Schupf Professor in Far Eastern Studies and Professor of economics Takao Kato, and external mentor Professor Michael Slepian from Columbia Business School, Ou will investigate the cognitive burden of information asymmetry in organizational settings. Specifically, this research will utilize the “secrecy-as-intention” framework to examine how secrecy-related mind-wandering impacts work efficiency and relationship quality, and how the perceived “worthiness” of information asymmetry may serve as a moderator. 

Le Dinh ’27, a psychological science and educational studies major, has received a Picker ISI Scholar award for the project “Intersubjective Engagement in Minimally-Speaking and Non-Speaking Children with Autism.” Working under the dual mentorship of Ashley de Marchena, assistant professor at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, and Spencer Kelly, Hurley Family Chair, professor of psychological and brain sciences and neuroscience, Dinh will investigate the emotional and relational quality of interactions between students with autism and their teachers across different interactive contexts. 

A brief description of each project can be found on the Picker ISI Funding History page.

“Beyond their scientific and scholarly contributions, these awards strengthen the link between research and education at 91�鶹��Ʒ,” Ay adds. “These projects build long-term partnerships that can grow into sustained programs of research and future external funding for our faculty. Across this year’s research grants, training opportunities, and scholars projects, students will be involved at every stage: learning new methods and working with cutting-edge tools to contribute to field, lab, computational, and community-based research alongside faculty and external collaborators.”

Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute Mission

The mission of the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute at 91�鶹��Ʒ is to foster the creation of new knowledge that is obtainable only through the development of sustained interdisciplinary research. The institute supports internal and external collaborations among faculty who bring expertise from different disciplines to bear on current and emerging scientific problems that remain intractable to the methods used within a single discipline. The institute also encourages interdisciplinary approaches to learning through innovative curricular and research opportunities for students that may arise from the pursuit of interdisciplinary research projects.