{"id":16526,"date":"2022-08-24T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/?p=16526"},"modified":"2022-08-24T08:51:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T12:51:39","slug":"cagney-coomer-receives-prestigious-howard-hughes-medical-institute-hanna-h-gray-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/2022\/cagney-coomer-receives-prestigious-howard-hughes-medical-institute-hanna-h-gray-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"Cagney Coomer Receives Prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cagney<\/a>
Cagney Coomer, PhD. Photo by Kurt Wehde<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cagney Coomer, PhD, a postdoctoral trainee in the Halpern Laboratory in Molecular and Systems Biology at Dartmouth\u2019s Geisel School of Medicine, has been selected as a 2022 Hanna H. Gray Fellow<\/a> by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute<\/a> (HHMI).<\/p>\n

Coomer is one of only 25 biomedical researchers chosen across the U.S. this year as an HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow through a highly competitive selection process, and she is the first scientist from Dartmouth to receive this honor, which focuses on recruiting and retaining individuals from gender, racial, ethnic, and other groups that are underrepresented in the life sciences, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program honors the contributions of Hanna Holborn Gray, PhD, an inspiring leader and one of the founding trustees of HHMI.<\/p>\n

The two-phase program is designed to support fellows through their postdoctoral training and their early career years as independent faculty\u2014providing up to $1.4 million in funding over eight years. Fellows also participate in professional development, mentorship, and networking with their peers and the broader HHMI network of scientists.<\/p>\n

As a scientific philanthropic organization, HHMI is dedicated to advancing basic biomedical research and science education for the benefit of humanity and believes that solving the most vexing problems in science and medicine requires the engagement of individuals from a diversity of backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\"Cagney<\/a>\u201cI\u2019m honored to be chosen as a Hanna Gray Fellow and to become part of such a distinguished community of scientists,\u201d says Coomer. \u201cReceiving this kind of funding and support from HHMI is validation for the work I\u2019ve been doing and the science I\u2019m planning for the future. It will give me the freedom to take risks, explore new areas, and bring my ideas to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using zebrafish as a research model, Coomer is developing trans-synaptic tracing techniques to map, monitor, and manipulate neural circuits. She aims to apply these powerful techniques to study how neural circuits develop and function, and how neurons communicate with each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeural circuits are the fundamental connections that form the basis of all brain functions, from cognition to behavior,\u201d she explains. \u201cBy being able to map neural circuits, we can start to understand the underlying mechanisms of how brains function and then be able to associate those functions with human neurological diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coomer is particularly interested in regeneration of neural circuits. \u201cThe zebrafish is capable of regenerating neurons along with other organs in the body including the heart, the liver, and the retina,\u201d she says. \u201cBut as humans when we lose nerve cells there\u2019s no way to properly recover the function they provide. Perhaps by studying animals like the zebrafish we can someday discover ways to restore neural functions lost because of illness, damage, or the aging process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The techniques that Coomer is developing will provide important tools for neuroscientists and have the potential to increase our understanding of how neural connections regenerate, says Marnie Halpern, PhD, The Andrew J. Thomson Professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Systems Biology at Geisel.<\/p>\n

\u201cCagney is an exceptional person and highly deserving of the Hanna Gray Fellowship award, not only because she excels in the lab but also because of her deep commitment to science outreach activities,\u201d says Halpern, who serves as Coomer\u2019s primary mentor. \u201cEverything Cagney has achieved has been through her own grit, determination, and creativity\u2014I think that\u2019s why she feels so strongly about paving the path for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coomer has partnered with communities and schools across the country to introduce the wonders of science to young students, especially those from underrepresented groups, and make it fun and relatable to their daily lives. \u201cShe\u2019s also mentored students in my own lab, like Rosario Rosales, a Dartmouth undergraduate student and E.E. Just summer fellow, empowering them to believe in their potential,\u201d adds Halpern.<\/p>\n

Previously, Coomer received the Society of Developmental Biology\u2019s inaugural Trainee Science Communication Award, and also the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, for her work with NERD SQUAD\u2014a non-profit organization she founded that encourages girls of color to become interested in STEM fields\u2014and her other outreach efforts.<\/p>\n

For Coomer, being a mentor and role model for youngsters has given her much in return. \u201cBeing able to share my love of science with them and to show them what\u2019s possible is a great feeling,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s made me proud to have chosen this as a career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coomer obtained her AS from Bluegrass Community and Technical College, her BS from Virginia State University, and her PhD from the University of Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1797, the\u00a0Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth <\/strong>strives to improve the lives of the communities it serves through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The Geisel School of Medicine is renowned for its leadership in medical education, healthcare policy and delivery science, biomedical research, global health, and in creating innovations that improve lives worldwide. As one of America\u2019s leading medical schools, Dartmouth\u2019s Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of diverse leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in healthcare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cagney Coomer, PhD, a postdoctoral trainee in the Halpern Laboratory in Molecular and Systems Biology at Dartmouth\u2019s Geisel School of Medicine, has been selected as a 2022 Hanna H. Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":16528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[1089,1090],"class_list":["post-16526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-cagney-coomer","tag-halpern-laboratory","author-26"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/CagneyCoomer_featured.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4r3h1-4iy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16530,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16526\/revisions\/16530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}