2026 MolES Catalyst Awards support collaborative microbial research initiatives  

Filed Under: AwardsNewsResearch

May 27, 2026

Six headshots of award recipients stacked in two rows with text that reads 2026 MolES Catalyst Awards
L to R: Monica Guo, Lauren Rajakovich, Sid Venkatesh, Anna Kuchina, Sean Gibbons and Joshua Elmore
Photos: Institute for Systems Biology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of Washington

Three University of Washington faculty-led teams received the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute’s (MolES’s) 2026 Catalyst Awards. These awards seed new research initiatives and support preliminary data generation. Each team will receive $5,000 in award funding to help launch their collaborative research

In April, participants in the MolES-sponsored Microbial Engineering Scientific Exchange were invited to collaborate with fellow scientists on microbial engineering research projects and apply for catalyst award funding.

“These awards are a rapid-response mechanism that helps carry forward the energy generated during our Scientific Exchanges,” said Suzie Pun, MolES director and Washington Research Foundation Endowed Professor of Bioengineering. “They provide timely support to pursue promising ideas while the momentum is still high, enabling researchers to quickly translate initial conversations into impactful, cross-cutting collaborations.”

Congratulations to the 2026-2027 MolES Catalyst Awardees:

  • “Mechanistic Basis of Variation in Bacterial Mutation Rates,” led by Monica Guo, UW professor of Microbiology and Anna Kuchina, Institute for Systems Biology
  • “Investigating the Link Between Diet and the Gut Microbial Metabolome,” led by Lauren Rajakovich, UW professor of Chemistry and Sean Gibbons, Institute for Systems Biology
  • “Engineering Non-Model Gut Bacteria to Probe Endocannabinoid and Quorum Sensing Pathways,” led by Sid Venkatesh, Institute for Systems Biology and Joshua Elmore, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory