Written by Allison Bauer, Dept. of Medical Microbiology & Immunology
The Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is pleased to announce that Dr. Margaret Alexander has been selected as the recipient of the Shaw Early Career Research Award. Sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF), this prestigious award provides $200,000 over two years to support early career researchers in the fields of Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, and Cancer research.
The Shaw Early Career Research Award replaces the Shaw Scientist Program, which had been on hiatus for several years. Unlike its predecessor, the new award program is administered directly by UW-Madison, which has been delegated decision-making authority by GMF. The award is open to full-time, tenure-track assistant professors within three years of their appointment, with each department allowed to nominate one candidate annually. The funding aims to support innovative and high-impact research at a critical stage in a scientist’s career.
Dr. Alexander’s research focuses on answering a key question for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases: “Is there a diet that will improve my disease?” Due to the intricate relationships between diet, genetics, microbiota, and immune responses, there remains significant uncertainty as to why certain diets benefit some individuals but not others. The Shaw Early Career Research Award will allow Dr. Alexander and her lab to investigate these complex interactions in greater depth, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
Her lab’s research will utilize genetically diverse mice to explore how genetic variation influences dietary response, particularly in the context of the ketogenic diet. By studying the effects of diet on gut microbes and immune cells, the team hopes to uncover new insights into how diet influences autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Additionally, her research will venture into an exciting new area by examining how diet impacts interactions between three biological kingdoms—animalia, bacteria, and protozoa—particularly in relation to infection by the parasite Cryptosporidium.
Dr. Alexander emphasizes that the award provides invaluable support for pursuing high-risk, high-reward projects that may otherwise be difficult to fund through traditional sources. “This support comes at a critical time for us as a lab and for scientific research across the U.S., where traditional funding sources are in jeopardy,” she explains. The award gives her team the freedom to explore novel research avenues that have the potential to reshape our understanding of diet, microbiota, and immune interactions.
Looking ahead, Dr. Alexander’s long-term goal is to unravel the mechanisms by which diet shapes immune responses during autoimmunity and infection. Her research aims to identify host and microbial genes that mediate dietary effects on immunity, with the potential to improve therapies through bioactive dietary compounds, microbial-derived immunomodulatory factors, and targeted host pathways. She is also eager to expand her research to new areas, including the influence of diet-host-microbiota-immune interactions on the effectiveness of autoimmune therapeutics and infection responses.
The Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison congratulates Dr. Margaret Alexander on this well-deserved recognition and looks forward to the groundbreaking discoveries that her research will bring.