JULY 10, 2025, NEW YORK – It is with great pleasure that we announce that Ludwig Princeton’s Vanha Nhat Pham, a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Branch Director Joshua Rabinowitz, has been named the first Ludwig Cancer Research-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow.
Over the course of the three-year fellowship, Pham will explore the roles molecular components of cell membranes known as phospholipids play in cellular physiology. These molecules—consisting of a water-soluble head and two (water-repelling) fatty acid tails—tend to be structurally similar, even though their tails vary considerably in their chemical characteristics. With a few notable exceptions, they have traditionally been seen as interchangeable in their biological function—mainly the modulation of membrane structure and fluidity.
There are, however, several hundred chemically distinct varieties of phospholipids in cells, inviting the question of what necessitates such diversity. There is some evidence that they might have more complex roles in cell biology than is generally presumed. For example, specific changes in the phospholipid profile of cell membranes accompany several diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Further, Pham’s own preliminary studies have uncovered variations in the distribution of different species of phospholipids across distinct regions of the brain.
Pham hypothesizes that, based on their chemical characteristics and locations within cells and tissues, phospholipids are likely to have varied roles in molecular communication that affect the fate and function of cells. She has proposed a series of studies employing cutting-edge technologies for large-scale molecular analysis—including many pioneered by Ludwig Princeton—to examine that idea.
Together with support provided by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research through its Princeton Branch, the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (Jane Coffin Childs Fund) will provide Pham with three years of stipend, research and travel support. Pham, whose fellowship begins in July, will attend the annual symposium of the Jane Coffin Childs Fund in each of these years, where she will present her work along with all of the 76 current JCC Fellows.
Our congratulations to Pham for this well-deserved award.