Ten Hellman Faculty Fellows Named for 2013-2014

A total of $341,250 has been awarded to ten junior faculty members who have been named the 2013-2014 Hellman Faculty Fellows at the University of California, San Diego. The award will support the recipients’ research and scholarly work as they strive for tenure with the university.

“We deeply appreciate the Hellmans’ generosity and confidence in UC San Diego’s exceptional young faculty,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Their legacy of support has a profound impact on the scholarship of our fellows, and their contributions to many fields of study.”

Warren Hellman

The Hellman Fellowship Program was established at UC San Diego in 1995 with an initial gift of $2.5 million from Chris and Warren Hellman. The program is designed to provide financial support and encouragement to young faculty who show capacity for great distinction in their research and creative activities. Since its inception, more than $3.9 million has been awarded to 252 Hellman Faculty Fellows at UC San Diego.

“The Hellman award provides critical early-stage research funding to help junior faculty reach their full potential in terms of scientific and academic impact,” said Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Suresh Subramani. “Private support is becoming increasingly important to ensure that UC San Diego thrives as an environment for innovative, leading-edge research and teaching.”

Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Christian Metallo, one of the 10 recipients, will use the award to study heart metabolism, as well as for efforts to educate the public on the relationship between nutrition and heart disease.

“The Hellman Faculty Fellowship is providing me with essential resources to initiate studies in this area as I build my laboratory,” said Metallo, who joined the Jacobs School of Engineering in 2011. “These funds will have a lasting impact on my work given the early stage of my career, so I am grateful for the support and honored by the selection.”

From the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, five proposals were selected for funding with an additional five fellowships awarded in the Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences and Engineering disciplines. The 2013-2014 Hellman Faculty Fellows are:

In Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

• Benjamin Doller, Literature
• Jesse Driscoll, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
• Gordon McCord, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
• Christopher Oveis, Rady School of Management
• Sally Sadoff, Rady School of Management

In Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Engineering

• Carlos Guerrero, Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Li-Fan Lu, Molecular Biology
• Dusan Keres, Physics
• Christian Metallo, Bioengineering
• Jose Pruneda-Paz, Cell and Developmental Biology

For more information about the Hellman Fellows Program, visit http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/faculty/awards/hellman.