October 18, 2024

Dr. Changyang Linghu Wins NIH Innovator Award for Pioneering Brain Research

MNI Affiliate member Changyang Linghu, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell and developmental biology, was recently awarded the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health’s esteemed High-Risk, High-Reward (HRHR) Research program. 

Intracellular protein tapes (XRI) record cell physiological histories over time in a scalable manner.

This honor supports early career investigators who propose groundbreaking and innovative research projects with the potential to make significant impacts on areas critical to the NIH mission. Remarkably, Dr. Linghu received a rare "perfect score" for his research proposal, reflecting high recognition of his previous work and future aspirations.

Linghu’s lab is developing novel tools to probe and decode cellular processes that underpin brain computation, memory, and aging. His research is inspired by the concept of emergence—the idea that complex systems can exhibit properties not explainable by their individual components.

By developing a genetically encoded molecular recording system, Dr. Linghu’s work on "Intracellular Protein Tapes" has enabled spatiotemporally resolved recording of cellular activities from large live-cell populations. This recording system works just like tree rings store and reveal a tree’s growth history—each cell in the cell population has its own molecular tape to record its activity history over time. By "tricking" neurons into recording their own activity internally rather than relying on external measurement interfaces, this innovation offers a scalable way to observe and study cell physiological and pathological processes from cell populations, such as those in the living brain. The potential implications of this research include unraveling how memory and computation arise from the collective activities of individual cells across the living brain.

In addition to the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Dr. Linghu was recognized last month for his innovative findings, being named to MIT Technology Review magazine’s 2024 Innovators Under 35 (TR35).

Congratulations, Dr. Linghu, on your remarkable achievements!