Fourteen University of California scientists from six campuses have been named recipients of National Institutes of Health awards for innovative projects that are intended to "catalyze giant leaps forward" for biomedical research.

The grants will allow UC scientists to advance research such as the healing power of stem cell ribonucleic acid, mapping speech functions in the brain and delivering molecules specifically to tumor tissue. In all, NIH is awarding a total of $143.8 million to 79 recipients under three highly competitive research programs: the NIH Director's Pioneer, New Innovator and Transformative Research Project Awards.

The UC recipients are:

2011 NIH Director's Pioneer Award

Utpal Banerjee, Ph.D., UCLA
James Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D, UC Davis

2011 NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Maria Barna, Ph.D., UC San Francisco
Edward Chang, Ph.D, UC San Francisco
John Chang, M.D., UC San Diego
Michelle Chang, Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Heather Christofk, Ph.D., UCLA
Nathan Gianneschi, Ph.D., UC San Diego
Ming Hammond, Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Songi Han, Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara
Bo Huang, Ph.D., UC San Francisco
Andrea Kasko, Ph.D., UCLA
Emanual Maverakis, M.D., UC Davis

2011 NIH Director's Transformative Research Projects Award

Jan Nolta, Ph.D., UC Davis