SEATTLE — March 4, 2025 — Fred Hutch Cancer Center announced 10 recipients of the annual Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, which recognizes the exceptional achievements of graduate studies in the biological sciences.
This year’s recipients represent both national and international research institutions, with a variety of thesis topics including the structural organization of neural networks, a hereditary basis for metastatic breast cancer, gene editing tools for neurodegenerative diseases and the brain’s ability to control the tongue.
“We congratulate the impressive group of domestic and international applicants this year and commend their scientific achievements. Their work shows how creative thinking and dedicated research can spark discoveries,” said Jihong Bai, PhD, a professor in Fred Hutch’s Basic Sciences Division who co-leads the Weintraub awards committee.
“We celebrate the awardees and hope they inspire more students to follow their passion in biomedical science,” Bai added.
Fred Hutch established the annual award in 2000 to honor the bold and pioneering spirit of Dr. Harold “Hal” Weintraub, who died from brain cancer in 1995 at 49. Weintraub earned deep respect and admiration, and the award honors his legacy as a caring mentor and supportive colleague.
Nominations are submitted internationally each year. Awardees are chosen by a committee of Fred Hutch faculty and students, who select winners based on quality, originality and scientific significance as well as representing a diverse range of topics.
This award is supported by the Weintraub/Groudine Fellowship for Science and Human Disease, which aims to foster intellectual exchange through programs for graduate students and the Weintraub Symposium.
2025 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award recipients:
Pilar Baldominos Flores
PhD; Biotechnology
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
Roman Barth
PhD; Bionanoscience
Delft University of Technology
Dawn Chen
PhD; Systems, Synthetic and Quantitative Biology Program
Harvard University
Leila Elabbady
PhD; Neurobiology and Biophysics
University of Washington
Jeremy Hollis
PhD; Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Brendan Ito
PhD; Neurobiology & Behavior (NBB)
Cornell University
Connor McKenney
PhD; Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Wenbin Mei
PhD; The David Rockefeller Graduate Program
The Rockefeller University
Edwin Neumann
PhD; Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tong Zhang
PhD; Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Media contact:
Shayla Ring
sring@fredhutch.org
Fred Hutch Cancer Center unites individualized care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options while accelerating discoveries that prevent, treat and cure cancer and infectious diseases worldwide.
Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington. We have earned a global reputation for our track record of discoveries in cancer, infectious disease and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services. Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.