Seven early- to mid-career investigators have been selected for the 2026 cohort of ASPIRE — Advancing Scientific Programs of Independently-funded Researchers, a Department of Medicine program designed to help investigators expand the breadth and impact of their research programs and grant portfolios.
Now in its second year, ASPIRE provides selected investigators with funding over two years, along with individualized mentorship from senior Department of Medicine scientists. The program is intended for faculty who have established independent research programs but are seeking to develop new research directions and build toward additional R-level funding. Awardees develop plans for a new line of investigation that can generate the data and preliminary results needed for a competitive future R-level grant submission. In addition to advancing their individual research programs, ASPIRE scholars are encouraged to consider how the resources and findings generated through their work can benefit the broader Department of Medicine research community through the development of datasets, reagents or other resources that could support research by other investigators.
ASPIRE is part of the Department of Medicine’s broader efforts to support investigators as they build sustainable, independently funded research programs and develop the scientific leadership needed to pursue increasingly ambitious research questions.
The 2026 ASPIRE awardees are:
- Işın Çakır, PhD — Endocrinology and Metabolism
- Divay Chandra, MD, MSc — Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
- John Evankovich, MD — Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
- Georgios Kitsios, MD, PhD — Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
- Corrine Kliment, MD, PhD — Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
- Michael Risbano, MD, MA — Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine
- Haodi Wu, PhD — Cardiology/Vascular Medicine Institute
The 2026 cohort joins six investigators selected in the program’s inaugural year, bringing the total number of ASPIRE scholars to 13 during the program’s first two years.