Karen Toffler Charitable Trust Announces New Toffler Scholars

The Toffler Scholar Program supports medical investigators engaged in early-stage, innovative medical research.

The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust is pleased to announce that fifteen investigators engaged in early-stage research have earned Toffler Scholar Awards. The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust has partnered with six universities across the United States: The University of Florida, Temple University, Boston University, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and Florida State University. Each of these institutions, through the Toffler Scholar Program, identify young researchers working on high-impact projects to receive this vital early-stage funding. 

Toffler Scholars are selected for their keen intellect, innovative thinking, meticulous planning, and demonstrated passion for their work. Through working on disparate projects across multiple areas, every Toffler Scholar is working to advance medical research and bring high-impact changes to all humanity. With this support at a pivotal point in their careers, they gain a financial and network support bridge to a phase where large research grants are more available.

“I am thrilled that the Toffler Scholar Program is expanding to include these incredible universities and investigators,” said Rebecca Bartoli, executive director of the Karen Toffler Charitable Trust. “We are honored to be able to provide funding and other resources these Scholars need to continue their groundbreaking work, and we look forward to seeing them flourish in their careers.”

With this thoughtful investment, KTCT continues to do its part to address significant neurological, psychiatric, and pharmaceutical challenges whose solutions have the potential for a profound impact on the future of humanity.

Congratulations to this year’s Scholars!

University of Florida Toffler Leadership Awards

Adithya Gopinath
Ph.D. candidate
Department of Neuroscience
UF College of Medicine

Kathleen Hupfeld
Ph.D. candidate
Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
UF College of Health and Human Performance

Zachary Sorrentino
M.D., Ph.D. student
Department of neuroscience
UF College of Medicine

University of Florida Toffler Research Awards

Adithya Gopinath
Ph.D. candidate
Department of Neuroscience
UF College of Medicine

Binh Nguyen
M.D., Ph.D. student
Department of Psychiatry
UF College of Medicine

Yuxing Xia
M.D., Ph.D. student
Department of Neuroscience
UF College of Medicine

Temple University Toffler Scholar Award

Silvia Fossati, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Pharmacology
Associate Director, Alzheimer’s Center at Temple University

Boston University Toffler Scholar Award

Vijaya B. Kolachalama, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine/Computational Biomedicine and Computer Science
Founding Member of the faculty of BU Computing & Data Sciences
Boston University School of Medicine

Shangran Qiu
Graduate Student 
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences

Chonghua Xue
Staff Analyst
Boston University School of Medicine

Dr. Prajakta Joshi
Dental School Resident 
Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine

Matthew Miller 
Medical Student
Boston University School of Medicine

UCLA Toffler Scholar Award

Daniel Tward, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Computational Medicine
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center 
University of California, Los Angeles

Florida State University Toffler Scholar Awards

Stephen Beesley, Ph.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Biomedical Science
Florida State University

Xuegang Yuan, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Florida State University

Johns Hopkins University Toffler Scholar Award

Zhe Zhang, M.B.B.S, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Pathology
John Hopkins University