Hingorani Finishes Program Director Appointment with NSF

Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, professor of integrative sciences, recently completed a two-year tenure working for the National Science Foundation’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB). Hingorani served as the program director of the MCB Genetic Mechanisms program.

Hingorani worked with investigator-driven proposals submitted to both the Genetic Mechanisms and the Cellular Dynamics and Function programs. As a rotating program director, Hingorani managed proposal reviews and awards and responded to inquiries from principal investigators conducting fundamental research related to the central dogma of biology.

Hingorani particularly enjoyed managing Faculty Early Career Development Program proposal reviews because it gave her glimpses of potential future leaders in science and education. She also aided in the review of NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program proposals, appreciating the chance to serve in a program that has benefited students from Wesleyan.

Next fall, she will teach CHEM 381: Biochemistry and MB&B 208: Molecular Biology, and return to studying DNA mismatch repair. In 2005, Hingorani, received a $408,609 three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the structure and mechanisms of DNA repair proteins responsible for fixing errors in the genetic code and preventing carcinogenesis.