Rommie Amaro, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences and computer science, has received a 2010 National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award. The five-year, $2.3 million grant will further her research on infectious diseases carried by parasites called trypanosomes. She hopes to discover new treatments for devastating illnesses like Chagas disease and sleeping sickness that infect the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. The NIH created the Director’s New Innovator Award to support exceptionally creative researchers who propose projects with the potential for great impact.