Dr. Frankie Heyward Receives BNORC Pilot & Feasibility Award
Dr. Frankie Heyward, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Evan Rosen Lab in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has received a Pilot and Feasibility award for his project entitled “Determining the Direct Transcriptional Targets of IRF3 in AgRP Neurons”. This project seeks to optimize and ultimately harness CUT&RUN, a low-input alternative to ChIP-seq, to determine the direct transcriptional targets of endogenous IRF3 in AgRP neurons in during the fed, fasted, and leptin-treated state. The successful completion of this project will provide unprecedented clarity into the DNA binding dynamics of a homeostasis-regulating TF within AgRP neurons, something yet to be accomplished for a specific cell-type within the ARC, while providing avenues to develop novel interventions to treat obesity. Dr. Heyward received funding under a targeted call for Early Career Scientists from diverse backgrounds.