Houston, TX – August 3, 2026 – The Welch Foundation, one of the nation’s largest sources of private funding for basic chemical research, today announced recipients for three of its grant programs: Welch eXperimental (WelchX) Pilot Grants, Postdoctoral Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation Grants, and Catalyst for Discovery Program Grants.
“We are delighted to support innovative research through these relatively new funding mechanisms aimed at encouraging new collaborations,” said Adam Kuspa, President of The Welch Foundation. “As these programs continue to develop, we hope they will accelerate Texas’ growth as a leading hub for chemical research[KR1.1].”
WELCHX PILOT GRANTS
WelchX brings Texas researchers together to a topically focused chemistry retreat, stimulating them to ideate challenging issues of our time, while fostering lasting connections and increasing the density of research ties across the state. In June, 24 researchers gathered in Houston to explore this year’s theme, Chemistry of Life. Participants were invited to develop the collaborative concepts they designed at the retreat into $100,000 one-year WelchX Pilot Grant Proposals. This year’s recipients are:
- Dima Bolmatov, Texas Tech University, and Shengxi Huang, Rice University, “AI-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Probing Electromechanical Memory and Adaptation in Biomembranes”
- Eda Koculi, The University of Texas at El Paso, and Rosa Uribe, Rice University, “The mRNA Chemical Grammar of Embryonic Cell State Transitions”
- Robert Orchard, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Michael Marty, The University of Texas at Austin, “Uncovering Cryptic Lipid Chemistry of Viral Enzymes”
- Xinli Liu, University of Houston, and Lela Vukovic, The University of Texas at El Paso, “In Silico-Guided Discovery and Validation of Novel Brain-Penetrating Peptides”
- Qing Sun, Texas A&M University, and Olga Makhlynets, Baylor University, “Decoding the Flavor Chemistry of Coral: Towards a Speedy Recovery of Bleached Corals”
- Alexey Soshnev, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Jeremy Wilusz, Baylor College of Medicine, “How Cells Count and Correct: Dissecting Gene Dosage Compensation”
- Vincent Tagliabracci, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Filippo Mangolini, The University of Texas at Austin, “Vault Dynamics: Unlocking a Cellular Mystery”
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS OF THE LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH FOUNDATION GRANTS
The Postdoctoral Fellows Grants provide three-year fellowships at $105,000 per year to recent PhD graduates from around the world, supporting the development of their research careers in Texas by funding fellows who intend to tackle important problems in novel ways in laboratories offering world-class training. This year’s fellows are:
- Sang Hyun Park, mentored by Junyeong Ahn, The University of Texas at Austin, “Enhancing Chiral Light-Molecule Interactions with Surface Plasmons in Twisted Atomic Bilayers”
- Jinyan Rui, mentored by Yi Lu, The University of Texas at Austin, “Innovating Chemical Biology Tools for Proximity Labeling”
- Shomik Verma, mentored by James Tour, Rice University, “Thermally-Robust, Low-Work-Function Thermionic Emitters Based on Aligned OH Functionalized MXenes”
CATALYST FOR DISCOVERY PROGRAM GRANTS
The Catalyst Program Grants serve to accelerate progress in fundamental chemical research as well as stimulate internal competition and collaboration at invited institution[CM2.1]s. Up to two grants of $1,000,000 each are awarded annually for up to five years to highly meritorious proposals aimed at significant problems at the leading edge of chemistry. The level of support is calibrated to reduce barriers to discovery and provide flexibility in the manner of experimentation with minimal administrative burden. This year’s grant recipients are:
- Jodie Lutkenhaus (Program Director), Co-Investigators Alison Fout, Emily Pentzer, Daniel Tabor, and Karen Wooley, Texas A&M University, “Frontiers in Metal-Containing Polymers for Batteries”
- Henry Manning (Program Director), Co-Investigators Irfan Asangani, Pawel K. Mazur, Gabriel Sawakuchi, and Rugang Zhang, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, “Innovative Organometallic Complexes to Stably Harness Auger- and Alpha-Emitting Radioisotopes”
About The Welch Foundation
Since 1954, the Houston-based Welch Foundation has contributed over $1.1 billion to the advancement of chemistry through research grants, departmental grants, endowed chairs, and other chemistry-related programs in Texas. In 2023, the Foundation expanded its grant programs to include the Postdoctoral Fellows Grants, Catalyst Program Grants, WelchX Retreat and Pilot Grants, and Equipment Grants. The Foundation also bestows the annual Welch Award in Chemistry, recognizing achievement in basic research internationally, and the Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to early-career Texas scientists. For more information, visit www.welch1.org.
PR Contact
Frances Gu
gu@welch1.org
713-439-7829