Grants & Awards Serena Omo-Lamai Named Schmidt Science Fellow

Serena Omo-Lamai, a PhD candidate in Bioengineering, has been named a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow.

Omo-Lamai is one of just 32 early-career scientists selected from around the world as part of this year’s cohort, with each receiving support for one to two years, $100,000 in salary support per year, individualized mentoring, and a series of professional development sessions as they pivot to the next stages of their research agendas.

The fellowship is a program of Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt that aims to tackle society’s toughest challenges by supporting interdisciplinary researchers at the start of their careers. Fellows pursue a postdoctoral Placement in a world-class research environment that provides optimal support to develop their interdisciplinary science.

Traditional gene therapies often lack the precision needed to adapt to various cell types and disease states.As a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow, Serena plans to develop gene editing tools to precisely modify the genome only in specific cells or under certain disease conditions, enhancing efficiency and reducing off-target effects.

Serena’s goal is to use this technology to selectively eliminate harmful cells involved in autoimmune diseases, providing a precise and safe treatment option for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and type-1 diabetes. This can also be applied to a range of other diseases and used for diagnostics.

Serena will pivot from Biomedical Engineering to Genetics & Genomics