Disorders of the brain and nervous system are among the most complex to understand and treat, and they continue to account for greater disability, economic cost and human suffering than any other category of disease. Because of that, Massachusetts General Hospital has prioritized the neurosciences, employing approximately 2,000 specialists and physician-scientists dedicated to treating and curing these disorders and diseases.
But revolutionizing healthcare requires more than able bodies — it also requires research funding. Nearly one-third of Mass General’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding goes toward neuroscience-based research. However, decades of national data has shown that grant funding favors more established scientists, leaving fewer options for early-career talent to pursue and nurture their careers.
Research results demonstrate that scientists who are tendered the flexibility to explore new frontiers are the ones who often make the greatest advances. Mass General has embraced this information and has implemented programs to fund research that is not yet supported by NIH and other sources. As a result, a pipeline of fresh ideas has grown to advance the neurosciences at an unparalleled rate. And, at the forefront of this effort is the Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program.
A New Funding Pathway is Born
The Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program was established in 2021 — as an expansion of the Transformative Scholars programs in Neurology and Medicine — to promote and unlock new approaches and techniques. The idea sprouted from a conversation between Mass General Brigham’s Neuroscience Institute Executive Director Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, and donors Nancy Zimmerman and her husband Andrei Shleifer, PhD. Ms. Zimmerman recognized the gap in funding and saw how it was impacting the future medicine.
“Nancy and Andrei have incredible insight,” says Dr. Cudkowicz, who is also the director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS. “They both have deep roots in academia and have witnessed how limited funding opportunities for young talent can hinder progress. To ensure early-career scientists are able to pursue careers in academic medicine, we knew we had to create a new pathway of support.”
Ms. Zimmerman and Dr. Shleifer provided the fundamental gift to launch the program, which offers two years of financial backing and mentorship for early-career physician-scientists. Under the direction of Dr. Cudkowicz and through a competitive application process, a committee of reviewers across Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging choose several recipients whose research span brain health, tinnitus and related disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and many other areas.
Philanthropy has been essential to its success, helping the initiative grow exponentially. To date, the Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program has catalyzed the research and career paths of 18 young investigators, and, in 2024, the committee reviewed a record-breaking 162 applications.
“Imagine a future where now-deadly diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are not only reversible, but also preventable,” says Ms. Zimmerman. “The Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program is an important tool to change the ecosystem to foster that outcome.”
The Program in Action
Many groundbreaking ideas have emerged from the Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program, including accelerating progress in human brain neuroimaging and designing novel neurotechnologies — like an at-home tool for brain stimulation for patients suffering from long COVID. Awardees have contributed to other key discoveries as well, such as those related to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, biomarkers for tinnitus and consciousness in patients with traumatic brain injury. Recently, Bryan Choi, MD, PhD, Mass General neurosurgeon, associate director of the Center for Brain Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy and Neuroscience Transformative Scholar, was celebrated for leveraging the opportunity to develop a novel CAR T-cell therapy to treat glioblastoma — a fast-growing and malignant brain cancer with no known cure — using his CAR-TEAM platform.
As a Neuroscience Transformative Scholar, the program enabled Dr. Choi to collaborate with investigators and establish mentees across neurosurgery, cancer care, neuro-oncology and the Martinos Center. It also allowed him to translate his ideas into a Phase I clinical trial with remarkable speed. And in March 2024, Dr. Choi was the first author on a New England Journal of Medicine article chronicling this breakthrough, which combines two forms of cell therapy and opens doors to treating glioblastoma in a broader, potentially more effective manner.
“Our Neuroscience Transformative Scholars have incredible ideas that are shaping the future of medicine, and I’m grateful this donor-driven program gives them the platform they need to shepherd those ideas to the patient’s bedside. They’re making a difference for people here at Mass General and beyond.”
“This is a story of ‘bench-to-bedside therapy,’ where a novel cell therapy is designed in the laboratories of Mass General, fueled by philanthropy and translated for patient use within five years to meet an urgent need,” says Dr. Choi. “The Neuroscience Transformative Scholars award provided me critical funding to support this pursuit — one of an independent career in translational science, specifically in experimental bench-to-bedside immunotherapies, as part of the Mass General Neuroscience community.”
Shaping the Future of Neuroscience
Mass General has a long history of inimitable excellence in the neurosciences. The Transformative Scholars program strengthens that reputation, serving as an indispensable resource that cultivates and retains brilliant, early-career physician-scientists.
“Our Neuroscience Transformative Scholars have incredible ideas that are shaping the future of medicine, and I’m grateful this donor-driven program gives them the platform they need to shepherd those ideas to the patient’s bedside,” says Dr. Cudkowicz. “They’re making a difference for people here at Mass General and beyond.”
To learn more about the Neuroscience Transformative Scholars program, contact us.
