Hyoyoung Jeong Named a 2024 Hellman Fellow
Hyoyoung Jeong, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is one of 12 early-career faculty members who will receive a boost as this year's class of Hellman Fellows at the University of California, Davis.
The fellowship, which includes a grant of up to $49,000, will support Jeong's research into autonomous seizure management. Current technologies for continuous epilepsy monitoring rely on wired connections that pose risks for infections, limit patient mobility and require manual interventions.
His research proposes a closed-loop monitoring system that integrates a wireless network of skin-integrated devices with a bioresorbable anti-seizure stimulator (i.e., made of materials that are both absorbable by the body and replaceable with natural tissue). The research builds on his expertise with clinical-grade wireless tattoos for personalized health monitoring.
"I feel incredibly supported," Jeong said of receiving the fellowship. "The grant awarded through the Hellman Fellowship provides critical support for my research group, serving as a vital seed to advance our work and lay the groundwork for future proposals to agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health."
The Hellman Fellows is a UC-wide program, having been started by San Francisco philanthropists Chris and Warren Hellman to bolster the work of faculty members who were just a few years into their careers — often enough time to exhaust their initial funding but not long enough to garner a significant amount of external funding.
In 2020, the Hellman family provided endowments to each UC campus — $6 million to UC Davis — to continue the awards in perpetuity, through each campus's Society of Hellman Fellows. The Hellmans also intended their endowments to encourage others to contribute to the societies.
"We are excited to see the work these talented faculty members will continue to produce, and we are grateful for the ability to help augment their research enterprises through this ongoing program," said Philip Kass, vice provost of Academic Affairs, which administers the Hellman Fellows Program at UC Davis.
