Zak Swartz of Marine Biological Laboratory is Named a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that MBL Assistant Scientist Zak Swartz is among 22 researchers joining the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. These early-career scientists will receive four years of funding to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.
Swartz studies how female sea stars continue to produce eggs throughout their decades-long lifespan, with implications for addressing human infertility.
“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.”
Swartz is in the 40th group of Pew scholars to be awarded funding since the program’s founding in 1985. He joins 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.
“We are delighted that Zak Swartz has been recognized as a Pew Scholar,” said MBL Director Nipam Patel. “Zak’s lab has taken the lead in establishing the sea star as a highly tractable research organism for studying the processes of fertility and aging, and how they interact.”
Swartz’s lab studies sexual reproduction and development in the sea star, Patiria miniata, and its relatives as a window into understanding human health and fertility. Human females are born with all of their egg cells (oocytes) in a state of arrest at the first phase of meiotic cell division. After puberty and throughout the childbearing years, hormones induce the monthly maturation of an oocyte, preparing it for ovulation. However, the ability to successfully carry out this intricate program decreases as a woman ages, resulting in a greater risk of miscarriage or developmental disorders.
Sea stars, however, are exceptionally fertile, able to produce millions of eggs over their decades-long lifespans. This makes them an ideal model to understand why humans lost the feature of life-long fertility, and whether it is possible to take advantage of this knowledge to improve human reproductive health and aging.
“I am honored and grateful to receive this award from the Pew Charitable Trusts,” said Swartz. “This support will help us to define how stem cells in the ovary enable adult oogenesis in the sea star and facilitate collaborations within the Pew community.”
The Pew Scholars in Biomedical Sciences were chosen from 209 applicants nominated by leading academic institutions and researchers throughout the United States. Other members of this year’s class include scientists who are assessing how gut bacteria fights metabolic disease, how the human brain develops and evolves over time, and are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to prevent and treat disease,
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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery – exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.