Past Recipients of the Robert J. Cotter New Investigator Award

• 2023: Yansheng Liu, Yale University School of Medicine
• 2022: Stephanie Cologna, University of Illinois Chicago
• 2021: Martin Wuhr, Princeton University
• 2020: Si Wu (University of Oklahoma) and Nick Young (Baylor College of Medicine) 
• 2019: Wilhelm Haas (MassGeneral Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School)
• 2018: Leslie Hicks (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
• 2017: Peter Nemes (George Washington University) and Christine Vogel (New York University)
• 2016: Paola Picotti (ETH Zurich)
• 2015: Bernd Bodenmiller (University of Zurich)
• 2014: Judit Villen (University of Washington)
• 2013: Rebecca Gundry (University of Nebraska Medical Center)

2024 Recipient: Ying Zhu, Genentech, Inc.

Ying Zhu is a Senior Principal Scientist and Group Lead in the Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics, and Lipidomics at Genentech Inc. Dr. Zhu obtained his Ph.D. degree in Analytical Chemistry in 2010 from Zhejiang University with the guidance of Prof. Qun Fang. Afterward, he underwent two rounds of postdoctoral training at the Engineering School of Zhejiang University under the advisory of Prof. Ying Mu in 2013, and at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) under the guidance of Dr. Ryan Kelly in 2018. He then became a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator in PNNL in the summer of 2018, where he focused on improving the sensitivity and throughput of mass spectrometry-based bioanalysis by interfacing advanced microfluidics, robotics, chemistry, optics, and related engineering technologies.

Dr. Zhu is the key developer of the nanoPOTS platform, which has become one of the driving technologies for single-cell proteomics. His group also introduced and developed a couple of sample isolation technologies for single-cell and spatial proteomics, including imaging-based single-cell sorting and laser-ablation-based tissue microsampling. Since joining Genentech in 2022, he has been leading a team focusing on the development and implementation of single-cell and spatial proteomics technologies for early-stage drug discovery and biomarker identification. Throughout his career, Dr. Zhu has received numerous awards, such as the 2023 Rising Star in Measurement Science, Top 40 Most Influential People in Analytical Science under 40 years of age, Pathway to Excellence award for technology commercialization, and M. T. Thomas Award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Achievement.