Two PVM Faculty Members Recognized with Purdue Seed for Success Acorn Awards

Purdue University has released this year’s list of Purdue researchers who received the university’s prestigious Seed for Success Acorn Awards, and the honorees include two Department of Basic Medical Sciences faculty members. The Seed for Success Acorn Awards are presented by the Office of Research to recognize investigators for their accomplishment in obtaining external sponsored awards of $1 million or more.

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Ranjie Xu, assistant professor, and Dr. Marxa Figueiredo, associate professor, both in the Basic Medical Sciences Department. Dr. Xu specializes in neuroscience, stem cell biology, and molecular biology. He was recognized for receiving a grant of $3,924,990 from the National Institute on Aging for a research project entitled, “Elucidate Gene-Environmental Interactions Employed by Pb in Promoting ADRD in Aging Brains.”

Dr. Figueiredo, who is the PVM Dean’s Fellow for Graduate Programs, focuses on research to develop innovative therapies for bone metastatic cancers and inflammatory conditions. She was recognized for obtaining a grant of $1,531,286 from the Food and Drug Administration for a study entitled “Advancing Bispecific Engagers for NK Immunotherapy in Pediatric Gliomas.”

Click here to see a full list of 2025 Seed for Success Acorn Award recipients.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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