K Scholar receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

Jun Chen, PhD, assistant professor of bioengineering in the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, and current UCLA CTSI KL2 Translational Science scholar, has been announced as an award recipient of the Office of Naval Research (OCR) Young Investigator Program (YIP). The program recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who show exceptional promise for doing creative research.

Chen joins fellow UCLA awardee, Sergio Carbajo, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, as two of the 24 researchers honored in the current YIP award cohort.

As a recipient, Chen will receive a three-year, $750,000 grant to support his research project, "A Self-Filtering Ultrasensitive Liquid Acoustic Sensory System."  His funded project will explore improving wearable acoustic sensors for more practical use in tactical communities. 

Chen has also received additional CTSI honors and awards for his early-career research. In addition to being part of the current cohort of KL2 Translational Science scholars, he is also a current awardee of the 2023 Core Voucher Program, which awards investigators up to $10,000 in core services at CTSI partner institutions.

To learn more about Dr. Chen's ongoing research, visit the Wearable Bioelectronics Research Group.

Image source: UCLA Health