Arc Institute Announces New Cohort of Investigators to Accelerate Biomedical Research

Barchart · 10/16 10:00

Arc Institute, the research organization pioneering a new model for pursuing scientific breakthroughs, announced today the addition of seven leading scientists to its Investigator Program and Ignite Award cohorts.

The new Investigators join Arc’s growing community of scientists pushing the boundaries of research into complex human disease, from cancer to neurodegeneration to immune dysfunction. By converging expertise from disciplines including systems biology, chemical biology, genetics, disease physiology, and neurobiology, this cohort will play a key role in advancing biomedical progress through cutting-edge, collaborative scientific exploration. Their contributions will further power Arc’s ongoing work at the interface of biomedicine and machine learning.

Arc's Investigator Programs support ambitious and collaborative research across disciplines and provide scientists with multi-year, unrestricted funding. This allows Arc researchers to pursue curiosity-driven research into their boldest ideas at a level often not possible in traditional academic settings. All Investigators and Ignite Award recipients can hold faculty positions at Arc’s partner universities, which are nexuses of talent and discovery: Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco. This year, one of Arc’s new Core Investigators, Dr. Isha Jain, holds an Investigator position with the Gladstone Institutes in addition to her UCSF faculty position.

“Scientific breakthroughs in biology’s toughest open problems are increasingly collaborative and interdisciplinary,” said Dr. Silvana Konermann, Arc Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Core Investigator. “By bringing together scientists across key disciplines at Arc under one roof, and giving researchers the resources to do their best work, we aim to catalyze fundamental progress in understanding and eventually treating complex diseases.”

“Our newly hired investigators are field-leading researchers who are tackling bold, frontier biology questions. They deploy powerful biotechnologies to illuminate the genetic and environmental contributions that underlie complex physiological interactions,” added Dr. Patrick Hsu, Arc Co-Founder and Core Investigator.

“We are proud of Isha’s contributions to biomedical science and thrilled to partner with Arc in supporting her groundbreaking research,” said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, President of Gladstone Institutes.

Core Investigators are at the forefront of research at Arc

Arc’s Core Investigators are the bedrock of research at Arc’s headquarters. They are appointed for renewable eight-year terms and receive unrestricted funding to pursue creative, bold research with complete autonomy. Core Investigators maintain their labs at Arc and can also hold faculty positions at one of Arc’s partner universities, remaining connected to major hubs of scientific advancement.

This year, Arc has appointed three new Core Investigators, two of whom are joining Arc via coordinated searches with the Departments of Pathology and Genetics at Stanford University. With these appointments, Arc now has seven Core Investigators and aims to add up to eight more over time.

Felix Horns, Ph.D.

Partner University affiliation: Assistant Professor of Genetics at Stanford University

Dr. Felix Horns creates and uses new technologies to understand and manipulate cells. His lab aims to discover the fundamental principles governing how cells and tissues operate and to harness these insights to improve human health. His work unites molecular engineering, synthetic biology, and genomics to answer questions and solve problems in immunology, neuroscience, cancer, and aging. He has recently been developing novel RNA export technology to understand how cells change over time in living animals and how to deliver therapeutics precisely to human cells, addressing some of the most significant challenges in biomedicine.

Felix received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford and performed postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology. His research has been recognized by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Chen Foundation fellowship, and the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation fellowship.

Isha Jain, Ph.D.

Partner affiliation: Investigator at Gladstone Institutes and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF

Dr. Isha Jain investigates how the body responds to changes in “what we breathe” and “what we eat.” More specifically, she and her lab are studying how variations in oxygen levels in the atmosphere and vitamin levels in the diet can affect disease progression. They are using this information to “turn the oxygen and vitamin dials” to treat a wide range of metabolic disorders from rare genetic diseases to age-associated degeneration.

Isha earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Systems Biology from the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. Prior to Gladstone, Isha was a UCSF Sandler Fellow. She has received several awards throughout her career, including the NIH Early Independence Award, Glenn Award for Aging Research, and the Harold M. Weintraub Award.

Christoph Thaiss, Ph.D.

Proposed Partner University affiliation: Christoph is being recommended for appointment as Assistant Professor of Pathology at Stanford University, anticipated January 2025.

Dr. Christoph Thaiss investigates how interactions between environment, body, and brain shape how neurodegeneration, inflammatory disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders arise in the human body. His research explores how environmental factors—like diet, chemicals, temperature, social interactions, the daily cycle of light and dark, and physical activity—shape body-brain communication and health at the molecular level. He’s particularly interested in the aging brain, sensory neuron biology, and gut-brain communication.

Christoph received his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science. His research has been recognized by the Pew Biomedical Scholars Award, NIH Director's New Innovator Award, NIDDK Catalyst Award, McKnight Brain Research Foundation Innovator Award, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award.

Science Fellows Program bridges a critical gap for early-career researchers

Arc’s Science Fellows are outstanding early-career scientists who transition into principal investigator roles immediately after doctoral training. These exceptional scientists lead independent labs at Arc that pursue innovative high-risk, high-reward research. The Science Fellows Program was designed to accelerate careers and address the fact that many scientists wait until their early 40s for their first independent funding. Fellows receive full funding for a small research group and are appointed for a five-year term.

Uche Medoh, Ph.D.

Dr. Uche Medoh delves into the molecular basis of metabolism and aging to develop treatments inspired by metabolites, which are small molecules produced during metabolism that play crucial roles in cellular processes. His work leverages chemistry, biochemistry, multi-omics, and cellular and organismal metabolism to understand how anti-aging metabolites maintain cellular and whole-body health. The Medoh lab discovers and characterizes a vast landscape of unknown metaboproteins—proteins that interact with or are modified by metabolites—to uncover new therapeutics for aging and age-related diseases.

Uche earned his M.Sc. in Medicine and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Stanford University School of Medicine. While there, he was recognized as a Stanford ChEM-H O'Leary-Thiry Graduate Fellow and as an Adelson Scholar. Uche earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and in Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology from Yale University.

Innovation Investigator Program and Ignite Award fund pioneering research at partner universities

Arc’s Innovation Investigators and Ignite Award recipients are the intellectual bridges between Arc and its partner universities. Innovation Investigators conduct breakthrough research as faculty at partner universities and receive funding from Arc to support work that may not receive funding through traditional grant processes. Ignite Award recipients are scientists selected for their visionary research exploration and distinct perspectives, opening up additional channels for discovery and impact. This year, Arc is announcing two Innovation Investigators and one Ignite Awardee.

Maayan Levy, Ph.D.

Investigator Program: Innovation Investigator in Residence

Proposed Partner University affiliation: Maayan is being recommended for appointment as Assistant Professor of Pathology at Stanford University, anticipated January 2025.

Dr. Maayan Levy’s scientific mission is to understand, develop, and apply the concept of metabotherapy—the use of metabolites as vehicles and targets to prevent and treat disease. Her lab's primary focus is on inflammatory diseases, neurological diseases, and cancer. Maayan is particularly interested in the metabolite landscape of the gastrointestinal tract, which serves as a major metabolite source for many other tissues and as an ideal entry point for the introduction of new metabolites into the organism. She is exploring the repertoire of these intestinal metabolites, their impact on whole-body physiology, and the possibility of targeting them for therapeutic interventions.

Maayan received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Among the recognitions her work has received are the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Pew Biomedical Scholar Award, Searle Scholar Award, and Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award.

Theo Roth, M.D., Ph.D.

Investigator Program: Innovation Investigator

Proposed Partner University affiliation: Theo is being recommended for appointment as Assistant Professor of Pathology at Stanford University, anticipated January 2025.

Dr. Theo Roth develops and applies genetic manipulation technologies for human cells and complex tissues. Working with a diverse team spanning bioengineering, genetics, immunology, oncology, and pathology, he and his lab created CRISPR-All, a unified genetic perturbation tool. This innovation enables examination of various genetic alterations across scales in human cells. Applications of CRISPR-All have revealed surprising capacities to engineer cells beyond their naturally evolved states. He aims to understand the potential of building new genes to optimize the genome of specific cells for specific environments, enabling novel therapeutic functions previously thought inaccessible.

Theo earned his MD and Ph.D. in the Medical Scientist Training Program at UCSF, and completed his residency in Pathology at Stanford. He co-founded and was the first Chief Scientific Officer of ArsenalBio. He has received multiple awards throughout his career, including the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, an NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award, and the Arsenal Biosciences Mission Award, as well as mentorship awards from nominations by his trainees.

Will Allen, Ph.D.

Investigator Program: Ignite Award

Partner University affiliation: Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Will Allen unravels the mysteries of how living systems, from tiny cells to entire organisms, maintain their balance and function over time. His research explores the intricate homeostatic balancing acts that maintain cellular and tissue function throughout an animal's life. Will and his lab aim to elucidate how these mechanisms work in various types of cells and tissues, and what goes wrong in age-related diseases like chronic inflammation and brain degeneration. Their ultimate goal is to engineer cells in living animals to restore homeostasis, replace lost functionality, and even rejuvenate aged or damaged tissues.

Will received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford, and was subsequently appointed an independent Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards, including the Churchill Scholarship, Hertz Foundation Fellowship, Nemko Prize in Cellular or Molecular Neuroscience, Weintraub Graduate Student Award, Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists, and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface.

2025 searches now open

Arc has now opened its 2025 round of faculty, investigator, and awardee searches.

The Institute looks to welcome additional Core Investigators, including two through coordinated searches with partner universities.

With UCSF’s Department of Neurology, Arc is seeking a scientist who aspires to groundbreaking research in neurobiology or neuroimmunology.

With Stanford’s Department of Bioengineering, Arc will soon be launching a search for a senior faculty member leading the field in computational biology or machine learning, neurobiology, or immunology.

Arc also plans to welcome an early-career scientist (a Ph.D. or MD who graduated from 2023 to 2025) ready to launch their own lab at Arc in neurobiology or immunology as a Science Fellow.

For current faculty at Stanford, UCSF, or UC Berkeley with a focus on neurobiology or immunology, Arc is accepting applications for its Innovation Investigator program, which provides funding over five years for faculty to pursue bold research from their home universities.

Arc also continues to accept applications from faculty at affiliated universities Stanford, UCSF, and UC Berkeley to its Core Investigator program.

About Arc Institute

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization located in Palo Alto, California, that aims to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Arc’s model gives scientists complete freedom to pursue curiosity-driven research agendas and fosters deep interdisciplinary collaboration. The Institute operates in close partnership with Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco. Arc was founded in 2021 by Silvana Konermann, Patrick Hsu, and Patrick Collison.