Gong Named 2016 Vallee Young Investigator

Yiyang Gong, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, has been selected to receive a 2016 Vallee Young Investigator Award. The award recognizes “extraordinary accomplishments and future promise” by providing $250,000 to further basic biomedical research projects to four young faculty members nationwide.

The award will support Gong’s research into understanding how neurons in the brain work together on millisecond timescales. In recent research, Gong created an ultrafast protein sensor that can optically detect action potentials between neurons in live mice and flies. Building on that work, Gong will create a set of new protein and optical tools that will quickly record and stimulate neural activity.

Candidates for the Vallee Young Investigator Award are competitively selected by their originality of research, innovation, quality of the proposal as evidenced by ideas and execution, record of accomplishment, and clear evidence that the awardee can carry out an independent research program.

The Vallee Foundation was founded by Bert and Kuggie Vallee as their legacy to the advancement of medical science and medical education. The Foundation stimulates development of interdisciplinary sciences related to human health by promoting interaction between productive scientists worldwide.