Dr. Vignesh Kasinath, an assistant professor of biochemistry at University of Colorado Boulder, has joined the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences with 21 other early-career scientists. They will receive four years of funding to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease, the Pew Charitable Trusts announced.
Dr. Kasinath will study how cells “silence” transposons, genetic elements whose movement within the genome can disrupt the function of genes. To maintain genomic integrity, cells have surveillance systems that distinguish between transposons and normal genes and epigenetically silence the transposons to prevent their replication, says Kasinath.
Recently, his group has found that one such system, human silencing hub (HUSH), interacts with specific RNA-binding proteins that have known roles in combating retroviral integrations in the human genome.
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Now, using cutting-edge techniques in cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry, and RNA-protein interaction mapping, his team will determine how RNA-binding proteins aid HUSH in the recognition of transcriptionally active transposons, how HUSH interacts with chromatin and RNA to silence these elements, and how mutations in HUSH perturb these interactions.
Since HUSH functions as an RNA-mediated gene silencer, Kasinath’s work could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treating cancers and other human diseases associated with transposon invasion, by epigenetically silencing such translocations that often result in oncofusions (cancer-associated gene fusions).
“For 40 years, Pew has supported young, talented researchers as they take creative approaches to solving big scientific questions,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “This new class continues that legacy, and we look forward to seeing where their discoveries lead.”
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The 2025 class—all early-career, junior faculty—marks the 40th group of Pew scholars to be awarded funding since the program’s founding in 1985. They join a rich network of more than 1,000 Pew-funded scientists and will have opportunities to meet annually to exchange ideas and form collaborations across disciplines.
“Pew-funded scientists have long contributed to biomedical research discoveries that have improved human health,” said Lee Niswander, a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program’s national advisory committee. “I’m confident this new class of scholars, with their innovative and creative approaches to scientific research, will continue this tradition.”
Scholars were chosen from 209 applicants nominated by leading academic institutions and researchers throughout the United States. This year’s class includes scientists who are assessing how gut bacteria fights metabolic disease, examining the way the human brain develops and evolves over time, and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to prevent and treat disease.