Yale’s Grace Chen has been named a 2020 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar for her pioneering work on the immune system.
Chen, assistant professor of immunology, is one of five early-career leaders in the biomedical sciences who received the scholarship, which supports research that holds exceptional promise for revealing new pathways to advance human health. The scientists will receive grants of up to $110,000 annually for a maximum of five years to conduct innovative research on critical topics in cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.
An essential function of the immune system is to distinguish between its own and foreign molecules in order to destroy pathogens while preventing destruction of healthy cells. The Chen lab investigates how the immune system correctly identifies pathogens when the same signals are found in both host cells and pathogens. Their work focuses specifically on the functions and regulations of circular RNAs and RNA modifications in health and disease.
Chen, who was born in China, said she was inspired to pursue a career in science early in life: “Growing up, I was immersed in environments where people interface directly with the land and crops on a daily basis. I watched people from different backgrounds work together to solve problems. I learned that generational knowledge, new insights, and novel engineering discoveries are all instrumental to improving the next season’s harvest. My experiences inspired me to ask and answer the big ‘why’ questions in science collaboratively, with the hopes that addressing them will improve the quality of human lives around the world.”
Chen holds a B.S. from the University of California-Berkeley and a Ph.D. from Harvard University for her Ph.D. She joined Yale’s Department of Immunobiology in 2019.