March 2008 Recipients

Dr. Huifei Liu, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pathology

Dr. Huifei Liu is a postdoctoral fellow in pathology at Harvard Medical School. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina.

Dr. Tamily Weissman, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Dr. Tamily Weissman is a postdoctoral fellow in Jeff Lichtman’s laboratory in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Center for Brain Science. Her current research focuses on mapping neural circuits in the developing brain.  She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York City, where she studied the mechanisms that underlie cortical neuron production during embryonic brain development.

Weissman’s research involves visualizing cerebellar neuronal circuits in the brains of multi-colored fluorescent transgenic mice using high-resolution optical microscopy techniques.  These mice, known as “Brainbow” mice, were recently produced in the Lichtman laboratory and published in the journal Nature.  She uses custom software to analyze these image datasets and produce three-dimensional digital reconstructions or maps of circuits in the brain. 

Research Enabling Grants

The Research Enabling Grants program (REG) is a pilot program intended to provide scholars with financial support to enable research that would otherwise suffer due to significant child care or adult dependent care obligations. REG provides funding for tenure-track faculty and benefits-eligible postdoctoral fellows who are primary caregivers.*

These competitive 1-year grants are for up to $75,000 and may be used for the following purposes:

• Hiring additional staff, such as a postdoctoral fellow, technician, research assistant, or grant manager
• Purchasing equipment that would enable more efficient research
• Taking a dependent and caregiver on extended field work**

(The REG program will not fund computers, except under unusual circumstances.)

The program’s goal is to support scholars who have the potential to become tenured faculty. Successful applications will describe:

• The candidate's significant dependent care responsibilities
• A compelling case for how the REG award would support the advancement of the candidate's academic career
• Why the candidate's current grant funding would not provide such support

Applications should be submitted via the online form below.

There are two funding rounds for academic year 2008. The application deadlines are:
October 5, 2007 (passed)
March 3, 2008 (passed)

*Please note that among HMS faculty and postdoctoral fellows, only those based primarily in the Quad's basic and social science departments are eligible. Faculty and postdocs based in the HMS-affiliated hospitals and research centers are not eligible.

**Funds used to pay for dependent care or travel is considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service.

REG awards are not subject to University or School overhead assessments.

If funded, REG recipients are expected to participate in a comprehensive assessment on the how the REG award contributed to their professional development.

Questions may be addressed to Fiona Chin in the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity: fiona_chin@harvard.edu.

Research Enabling Grants Application