The Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund announces the 2020 recipients of its Young Investigator Awards and Pilot Awards which will provide $1,450,000 in charitable grants for research in the San Antonio, Texas area over the next three years.

The Young Investigator Awards, which provide each recipient $150,000 per year over three years ($450,000). The Young Investigator Pilot Awards provide each recipient $100,000 for one year. Both awards are intended to support young scientists conducting medical research to find cures for cancer, heart disease, arthritis, muscular dystrophy, retinitis, and/or macular degeneration of the retina.

The following are the 2020 Young Investigator Award recipients, along with their institutions and project titles:

Dr. Soo Chan Lee, Ph.D.
University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas
Roles of Enteric Fungi and Their Interactions with Bacteria in the GI Tract Diseases

Dr. Corina Maeder, Ph.D.
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
Uncovering Pre-messenger RNA Splicing Mechanisms in Retinitis Pigmentosa

Dr. Weixing Zhao, Ph.D.
University of Texas Health, San Antonio, Texas
Mechanistic Insights into the BRCA1-BARD1-Aurora Kinase Axis in Neuroblastoma

The following are the 2020 Pilot Award recipients, along with their institutions and project titles:

Dr. Lizhen Chen, Ph.D.
University of Texas Health, San Antonio, Texas
Targeting YAP-TEAD on Enhancers For Therapy Resistance in Breast Cancer

Dr. Josephine Taverna, M.D.
University of Texas Health, San Antonio, Texas
Targeting AXL-JAK1 in Tumors and Immune Ecosystems of Lung Cancer