The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, a division of the Allen Institute, has announced the 2022 cohort of Allen Distinguished Investigators.

Eleven grants totaling $15.5 million were awarded in support of research projects led by 23 investigators, the largest cohort since the program was launched in 2010. Funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the grants of between $1.3 million and $1.5 million each will support early-stage research projects with the potential to advance the fields of biology and medicine in three areas: neural circuits of under-studied organisms, micropeptides involved in immunity, and advances in mammalian synthetic biology.

The awards will fund three projects focused on better understanding the neurons that underlie movement in under-studied animals; three projects that will uncover how tiny, mysterious proteins known as micropeptides affect our immune systems; and five projects that seek to reimagine the field of synthetic biology through engineering mammalian tissues in the lab. Recipients include Lucia Prieto-Godino and Samuel Rodriques (Francis Crick Institute), who are studying how a new kind of behavior arises in evolution; Sarah Slavoff, Grace Chen, and Joseph Craft (Yale University), who are exploring the roots of the autoimmune disease lupus; and Adrian Ranga (KU Leuven), who is applying the emerging field of “soft robotics” to brain organoids, lab-grown mini-brains derived from human stem cells.

“We’re so excited about this new group of Allen Distinguished Investigators. They have transformative research visions and we’re thrilled to help bring those ideas to life,” said Kathy Richmond, executive vice president and director of the Frontiers Group and the office of science and technology at the Allen Institute. “They’re provocative and innovative with their approaches to science and with the ambitious goals they’ve set. They’re just fearless.”

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