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Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Edward Chouchani

Edward Chouchani

2023 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science

Portrait of Edward Chouchani

Location

Cambridge, MA

Title

Associate professor of cancer biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
Associate professor of cell biology, Harvard Medical School;
Board Member, Matchpoint Therapeutics

Area(s) of Research

Metabolism; endocrinology

Education

Carleton College (BS, Biochemistry and biotechnology);
University of Cambridge (PhD, Biological sciences)

Country of Birth

Canada

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Links to learn more about Edward Chouchani's work
  • Chouchani Lab

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biology biomedical science cancer cancer biology Carleton College Dana-Farber Cancer Institute endocrinology metabolism University of Cambridge
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Portrait of Edward Chouchani

Edward Chouchani was born in Canada but grew up around the world, spending time in Greece, Cuba, and Thailand during his childhood and adolescence. Chouchani’s father had been born in Cairo, Egypt, and immigrated to Canada, where he coordinated a linguistics program between Canadian universities and schools around the globe. The family led a peripatetic existence, which fostered an innate curiosity in the young Chouchani and a desire to live and study abroad.

“The extent to which I am adventurous—in science or life—probably has something to do with my upbringing,” he says. “Living in different countries engenders an inclination to be comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings, and to be comfortable not knowing the answer to every question while at the same time being aggressively curious. I think that my scientific taste, and my scientific career to date, have been shaped by these same instincts.”

Edward Chouchani in a blue dress shirt stands in front of a whiteboard.

Chouchani’s inquisitiveness led him to pursue a career exploring the intricacies of human metabolism. As a research scientist and an associate professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, he uses mass spectrometry and biochemical approaches to understand how metabolites regulate cellular function.

Some of the best science comes from challenging assumptions. By studying metabolites and the way they interact with proteins in cells, Chouchani hopes to build understanding of the physical and chemical interactions that underlie the development of disease. His work has inverted scientists’ understanding of the function of the metabolite succinate; Chouchani’s research has discovered that rather than being a byproduct of cellular energetics, succinate regulates a range of key physiological processes.

Edward Chouchani smiling in a library center.

Chouchani’s goal is to leverage the mechanisms his research discovers to better understand cellular degeneration and regeneration, and to develop drugs and therapeutics for metabolic, inflammatory, and metastatic diseases. In alignment with this goal, Chouchani is a cofounder of Matchpoint Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision medicines.

Edward Chouchani stands in a lab surrounded by equipment.

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Pew Scholar, Pew Charitable Trust (2021)
  • Helmholz Association Young Investigator in Diabetes Award (2021)
  • Armen H. Tashjian, Jr. Award for Excellence in Endocrine Research, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2021)
  • Rising Star in Physiology, August Krogh Society, University of Copenhagen (2019)
  • Early Career Research Award, Biochemical Society (2016)
  • Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow Travel Award, Harvard Medical School (2015)
  • Future of Science Fund Scholarship, Keystone Symposia (2014)
  • Hot Topic Speaker Award, Gordon Research Conference Nitric Oxide Meeting (2014)
  • Best Poster Prize, Gordon Research Conference Cardiac Regulatory Mechanisms Meeting (2012)
  • Senate Medalist, Carleton University (2008)
  • Top Business Proposal, Carleton University Biotech Business Competition (2006)

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biology biomedical science cancer cancer biology Carleton College Dana-Farber Cancer Institute endocrinology metabolism University of Cambridge

Jury Members

2023 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science

Heran Darwin

Professor, Department of Microbiology, New York University

Laurie Dempsey

Senior Editor, Nature Immunology, Nature Publishing Group

Viviana Gradinaru

Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Yibin Kang

Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University

Harmit S. Malik

Professor and Associate Director Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Luciano Marraffini

Kayden Family Professor, The Rockefeller University

Jedd Wolchok

Lloyd J. Old/Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
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Related Prize Recipients

Shixin Liu

Shixin Liu receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise for applying cutting-edge biophysical tools to directly visualize, manipulate, and understand the physiological function of nanometer-scale biomolecular machines including DNA replication and transcription complexes at the single-molecule level.
Portrait of Shixin Liu.

Kivanç Birsoy

Kıvanç Birsoy receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for developing cutting-edge tools to unravel the altered metabolism of cancer cells and uncovering molecular targets for treatment.
Portrait of Kivanc Birsoy

Biyu J. He

Biyu J. He receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for her leadership in the field of cognitive neuroscience, and for her groundbreaking discoveries on the biological bases of perceptual cognition and subjective experience.
Portrait of Biyu J. He.

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