Originally published by Michigan Medicine on June 30, 2026
The Pew Charitable Trusts selected Thanh Hoang, PhD, as a 2026 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. Hoang joined a class of 21 scholars nationwide.
“Receiving the Pew Biomedical Scholar Award is an incredible honor for our lab,” said Hoang, assistant professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Cell & Developmental Biology, and the Michigan Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School. “It gives us the freedom to pursue bold, innovative ideas that could fundamentally change how we think about repairing the brain.”
This prestigious award will support Hoang’s research program over the next four years. His laboratory studies how neurons develop and how they can be regenerated after injury or neurodegenerative disease.
Every year, millions of people lose neurons in the brain and retina due to injury or disease. These neurons are rarely replaced in adulthood, and their loss often leads to permanent neurological deficits and vision loss.
Hoang’s lab is developing approaches to reprogram the brain’s own support cells into neurons by exploring whether astrocytes, the most abundant support cells in the brain and spinal cord, can be efficiently reprogrammed into functional neurons.
The Pew award will allow the lab to take new approaches and build on earlier discoveries.
“This award is also a recognition of the dedication and creativity of the trainees in my lab, whose hard work makes these discoveries possible,” Hoang said. “I am especially grateful to the University of Michigan for fostering an outstanding collaborative environment that encourages innovative, interdisciplinary research. I hope our work will deepen our understanding of nervous system regeneration and ultimately lay the groundwork for new treatments for neurological disorders and blinding diseases.”