Hettleman Talks

Enjoy presentations by this year’s recipients of the Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prizes for Scholarly Achievement. The talks will provide an engaging look into these distinguished early career scholars’ work. The late Phillip Hettleman, a member of the Carolina class of 1921, and his wife Ruth established their prestigious named award in 1986 to recognize the achievements of outstanding junior faculty.

2025 Hettleman Winners

Sarah Cohen, Cell Biology and Physiology, School of Medicine
Cohen is creating a better understanding of brain health by studying the interactions of organelles — subcellular structures like nuclei and mitochondria that perform specific jobs in cells. Her work focuses on organelle dynamics and fatty acid trafficking in and between cells, particularly in the context of the central nervous system.
Her lab uses cutting-edge multispectral imaging and computational tools to visualize and quantify these interactions in real time, revealing how disruptions in lipid trafficking contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. To do this work, Cohen and her team developed a versatile fluorescent toolkit that allows researchers to visualize dynamic membrane contact sites between organelles. These tools have been widely adopted by labs around the world, accelerating discoveries in cell biology.