Neurobiologist Vineet Augustine Selected as Freedman Prize Winner and Pew Scholar

August 13, 2026

By Mario Aguilera

Neurobiology Assistant Professor Vineet Augustine

UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Vineet Augustine has been selected for two prestigious honors.

Augustine and members of his laboratory study how the brain coordinates signals from the body to maintain physiological balance and regulate behavior. Using state-of-the art neuroscience and molecular biology techniques, Augustine’s research includes investigations of connections from the heart to the brain and immune system. Learning more about the neurobiology of the heart offers significant promise for understanding cardiovascular disorders, which are globally the most common cause of death.

On July 15, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation announced Augustine as the winner of the 2026 Freedman Prize, a prominent award for young investigators “for exceptional basic studies.” The award is named in honor of Daniel X. Freedman, M.D., a pioneer in biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology and a founding member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council. Augustine was honored with the award on July 24 at a reception in New York City.

“The 2026 Klerman and Freedman Prize honorees are advancing some of the most promising frontiers in brain and behavior research, from mood and sleep circuitry and scalable psychotherapies to the neural mechanisms underlying social cognition, myelin biology and brain-body communication,” said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., president and CEO of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. “Their work illustrates the power of supporting early career investigators whose ideas can open new paths toward prevention, treatment and recovery for people living with mental illness.”

Separately, Augustine was named a 2026 Pew Biomedical Scholar. The Pew Charitable Trusts selected Augustine as one of 21 early-career scientists who will receive four years of funding to explore cutting-edge research uncovering insights into human health and disease. The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to early career investigators “of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health.”

“Scientific discovery is moving at a rapid pace, and now more than ever we need curious and creative researchers leading the charge,” said Lee Niswander, PhD, a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program’s national advisory committee. “These new biomedical scholars are prepared to meet that challenge, and I look forward to watching their research unfold.”

— With information from releases from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts