PIctured: Marcus M. Seldin, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Center for Epigenetics & Metabolism

The award gives up to $700,000 in direct costs per year for up to five years and supports scientists pursuing new research directions to develop pioneering approaches to major challenges in biomedical, social science and behavioral research.

”This is a remarkable achievement for anyone,” said Peter Kaiser, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Chemistry and acting co-director for the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. “There are only six DP1 awards from the NIH-NIKKD this year and Marcus should be very proud of his accomplishment.”

The NIH Director’s Pioneer Award is part of the Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, which was created to accelerate the pace of biomedical, behavioral, and social science discoveries by supporting exceptionally creative scientists with highly innovative research. The program seeks to identify scientists with high-impact ideas that may be risky or at a stage too early to fare well in the traditional peer review process. The program encourages creative, outside-the-box thinkers to pursue exciting and innovative ideas in any area of biomedical, behavioral or social science research relevant to the NIH mission.