Gage Crump earns an $8 million NIH Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research

To understand craniofacial disorders, Crump’s group examines the skeletal development of zebrafish (head bones stained red). (Image by Sandeep Paul/Crump Lab)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recognized USC scientist Gage Crump with an Award for Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research—an eight-year, $8 million grant to support the development of stem cell-based treatments for patients with craniofacial diseases.

“Perhaps the best part of this award is that it funds the investigator, rather than a specific project,” said Crump, associate professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “Many seminal discoveries in biology were made by scientists following their passions and taking risks to pursue new areas of research, yet unfortunately much project-based science is often tied to short-term gains. I am therefore extremely grateful for the confidence that NIH has placed in us with this longer-term investigator-based award. In particular, this award will afford us the flexibility to develop novel zebrafish models toward understanding where stem cells come from and how they can be better harnessed to repair damaged organs.”