Oakleigh Folkes and Dahae "Julia" Jun Honored With 2026 Kavli Postdoctoral Award for Collaborative Excellence

Oakleigh Folkes, PhD, from the laboratory of Yong-Hui Jiang, MD, PhD, in the Department of Genetics, and Dahae "Julia" Jun, PhD, from the laboratory of Emilia Favuzzi, PhD, in the Department of Neuroscience, have been selected to receive the 2026 Kavli Postdoctoral Award for Collaborative Excellence.

The Kavli Institute for Neuroscience is committed to fostering and supporting an inclusive neuroscience research community. Diversity is vital to achieving excellence and innovation in scientific research. The Kavli Postdoctoral Award for Collaborative Excellence seeks to support exceptional scholars who bring a diversity of perspectives and experiences to academic research. The award supports up to two years of mentored research in the neurosciences at Yale University, including salary, benefits, and a research allowance. Awardees are joining a nurturing community that promotes scientific excellence through mentorship, training, and professional development. The Kavli Institute supports all areas of neuroscience at Yale, from molecular, cellular, systems, computational, developmental, translational, and human neuroscience, with a special emphasis on cortical development, cortical function, visual science, cellular neurobiology, neurodegeneration, and repair.

After completing her PhD in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, Folkes joined the Jiang Lab in the Department of Genetics at Yale to investigate the genetic and cellular underpinnings of social deficits in mouse models of autism. She now investigates how populations of neurons that respond to social behavior, or social ensembles, differ in molecular identity, activity profiles, and functional encoding in mouse models of autism. Folkes ultimately aims to run an independent lab that identifies new ways to improve mental well-being at the bench and within her community through mentorship, inclusive science communication, and outreach.

After earning her PhD from Cornell University in 2025, Jun joined the Favuzzi Lab in the Department of Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine. Her research investigates the neural circuits that orchestrate predictive regulation of immune responses. This mechanism is not well understood, but it is important, given that failures in anticipatory control may drive chronic inflammation, a higher risk of disease, and maladaptive behavior.