Every year we ask readers, scientists and our own reporters to nominate early-career researchers whose work deserves more attention. This year we received more than 600 nominations. A panel of five senior researchers helped us narrow the list. Here are the ten we chose.
- Dr. Kwame Asante-Boateng, 34, structural biologist, Baltimore. Mapped the shape of a protein that lets some bacteria survive antibiotics, which opened a new path for drug design.
- Dr. Lucía Ferreyra, 36, pediatric neurologist, Houston. Runs a clinic for children with rare epilepsies and built a shared registry now used by 40 hospitals.
- Dr. Hyun-woo Park, 31, computational biologist, Seattle. Wrote open-source software that cuts the cost of reading single-cell data by about two-thirds.
- Dr. Maren Lindholm, 37, immunologist, Minneapolis. Studies why some people’s immune systems overreact to common viruses. Her lab’s mouse model is now used in a dozen other labs.
- Dr. Tobias Ekwueme, 33, bioengineer, Atlanta. Designed a paper-based test for kidney function that costs about 40 cents to make.
- Dr. Rania Haddad, 38, epidemiologist, Detroit. Tracks how heat waves affect hospital visits for older adults, block by block.
- Dr. Sven Aaltonen, 35, chemist, Cambridge, Mass. Found a cheaper way to make a key ingredient in RNA medicines.
- Dr. Priya Venkataraman, 32, psychiatrist and researcher, Pittsburgh. Leads a trial of a phone-based therapy for people with depression in rural areas.
- Dr. Elijah Moreau, 36, geneticist, Salt Lake City. Studies inherited heart disease in large families and has helped more than 200 relatives learn their risk.
- Dr. Camila Ostrowski, 34, health economist, Chicago. Measures what happens to patients when rural hospitals close their labor and delivery units.
How we chose
Nominees had to be within ten years of their final degree or training. We looked for work that is original, well done and likely to matter to patients. Our panel read every finalist’s papers, and our reporters spoke to colleagues, former mentors and, in several cases, patients. No one paid to be considered, and no sponsor saw the list before it was published.