Several Cornell researchers have received prestigious National Institute of Health grants to complete work in assorted fields, according to the University.

One of the researchers, Prof. Joseph Fetcho, neurobiology, received a five-year, $2.5 million Director’s Pioneer Award. The award’s aim is to help “scientists of exceptional creativity who propose pioneering — and possibly transforming approaches — to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research,” according to the NIH’s website.

Fetcho’s research focuses on the necessity of sleep. Through his experiments, he hopes to test his theory that animals with nervous systems have only a limited number of synapses which decrease during sleep stages and with lack of sleep. He will use the larval zebrafish in his studies, whose tiny bodies are transparent, making their cells visible to scientists.

Another scientist receiving the Pioneer Award is Prof. Alexander Travis, reproductive biology. Travis’ work involves the use of sperm as “locomotive devices.” He and his research team hope to track the path of sperm and create a human-made device that could potentially deliver drugs to specified locations in the body. The research has the potential of being instrumental in delivering drugs in a more acute manner, according to the University.

Prof. Shu-Bing Qian, biochemistry, was the recipient of the five-year, $1.5 million NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. The award goes to “highly innovative projects that have the potential for unusually high impact,” according to the NIH’s website.

Qian’s work involves the accumulation of misfolded proteins in cells. The biochemist hopes to better understand neurodegenerative disorders in humans and eventually create an enzyme that tags proteins to be destroyed in the neurodegenerative process.

In addition to the NIH Director’s Grants four University researchers are receiving Transformative R01 grants, five-year grants given for “exceptionally innovative, high-risk and unconventional research projects that have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms,” according to the University. The amounts of these grants have yet to be announced.

Professors John Lis, molecular biology and genetics, Harold Craighead, applied and engineering physics, and Moonsoo Jin, biomedical engineering, will use the grant to aid their work in developing protein-capture reagents that can recognize and “capture” an amalgam of human proteins. These proteins could potentially be developed for diagnostic and therapeutic ends.

Also receiving the grant is Dr. Samie Jaffrey, an associate professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical School. His work involves engineering RNA molecules that are lit by fluorescence when binding to small molecules. This innovative technique could be used to detect cancer biomarkers and levels of proteins in cells.