Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry, researchers at MIT, have been recognized as 2026 Searle Scholars. This prestigious award is granted each year to 15 standout early-career researchers in biomedical sciences and chemistry. Dorkenwald holds the position of assistant professor in brain and cognitive sciences and is also an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Henry serves as the Robert A. Swanson (1969) Career Development Professor of Life Sciences and is a faculty member at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Additionally, MIT alumni Irene Kaplow and Jared Mayers have received this honor.<\/p>\n
The Searle Scholars are selected by a scientific advisory board and are known for their innovative, high-risk\/high-reward research. The program is funded by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust and managed by the Kinship Foundation. Each recipient will be awarded $450,000 in flexible funding to support their research over the next three years.<\/p>\n
Sven Dorkenwald specializes in computational neuroscience, focusing on the organizational principles of neuronal circuits. His work involves the synaptic connectivity of neurons, known as the connectome, which is crucial for neuronal network function. Dorkenwald develops tools to map and analyze synapse-resolution connectomes, contributing to major reconstructions of the fruit fly brain and sections of mammalian brains. These connectomes help him study neuronal circuit architecture and its role in complex computations. “As I establish my new lab, the Searle Scholars Award will help us launch ambitious projects and set our long-term scientific direction,” Dorkenwald states, expressing gratitude for the support and anticipation of the collaboration with fellow scholars.<\/p>\n
Dorkenwald joined MIT as an assistant professor in 2026 and previously earned degrees from the University of Heidelberg and Princeton University. He completed postdoctoral work at the Allen Institute and University of Washington, while also being a visiting faculty researcher at Google Research.<\/p>\n
Whitney Henry’s research explores ferroptosis, a form of cell death dependent on iron, aiming to develop new therapies for targeting metastatic and therapy-resistant cancer cells. Her work examines the molecular factors affecting ferroptosis susceptibility, its impact on the tumor microenvironment, and strategies to alter ferroptosis resistance using various scientific techniques. “I am incredibly grateful to the Kinship Foundation for supporting our research and giving us the freedom to ask bold, curiosity-driven scientific questions,” Henry remarks, highlighting the support’s role in pursuing innovative ideas.<\/p>\n
Henry joined MIT in 2024 as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and is an HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar. She obtained her bachelor’s from Grambling State University and her PhD from Harvard University, later working in Robert Weinberg’s lab at the Whitehead Institute.<\/p>\n
MIT alumni Irene Kaplow, a mathematics graduate, is now an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University and was recognized for her work on transcriptional regulatory mechanisms and dietary phenotype evolution in mammals. Jared Mayers, who earned his PhD in biology from MIT, is an assistant professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. He was honored for developing a framework to understand metabolic vulnerabilities in bacterial pathogens.<\/p>\n