The Bakar Aging Research Institute is proud to congratulate Gregor Bieri, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of BARI Associate Director Saul Villeda, on receiving a 2026 Fellows-to-Faculty Award from the Simons Foundation.
The Fellows-to-Faculty Award supports outstanding early-career scientists as they transition from mentored postdoctoral training into independent tenure-track faculty positions. Administered through two initiatives within the Simons Foundation, the program provides each recipient with a $600,000 research grant over three years, along with access to an interdisciplinary scientific community and career development resources. In 2026, the foundation selected 15 awardees worldwide and Bieri was selected as one of five awards from the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain.
Bieri’s project will examine brain vascular regulators of homeostasis and cognition in aging. His research in the Villeda lab has focused on how systemic factors, including the exercise-induced liver-derived protein Gpld1, can transfer the cognitive benefits of physical activity to the aging brain and mitigate neurodegeneration. By exploring the interplay between circulating factors, vascular function, and neural health, Bieri’s work directly advances BARI’s mission to understand and reverse age-related decline in the brain.
This recognition honors Bieri’s scientific contributions to date and provides critical support as he prepares to launch his independent research program. The award underscores the strength of the training environment within the Villeda lab and the broader BARI community, where postdoctoral scholars are equipped to tackle fundamental questions in geroscience and brain aging. We offer our sincere congratulations to Gregor Bieri on this well-deserved honor and look forward to following the next chapter of his research as he continues to illuminate pathways toward healthier cognitive aging.