Caroline Runyan, an assistant Professor in Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of the CNBC, has been awarded an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. According to the NIH, the award ” supports unusually innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received a research project grant or equivalent NIH grant.” Runyan’s work focuses on the circuit mechanisms controlling signal transmission between brain regions. Her lab uses optical tools to monitor and manipulate the activity of defined neuronal populations across behavioral contexts. A specific research focus of her Innovator Award project concerns the role of inhibitory neurons in gating information flow in the brain. More information about the award, part of the NIH’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, can be found here .

What Is the High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program? (1 minute video)

An audio-described version of this video is also available.