Newest investigator in Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern recognized for innovative lysosome research
Hijai Regina Shin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in CRI, has been named a 2025 Searle Scholar to support her innovative research on lysosomes.
(DALLAS) – April 15, 2025 – Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) cell biologist and biochemist Hijai Regina Shin, Ph.D., has been named a 2025 Searle Scholar, an annual award given to 15 early-career scientists with outstanding potential across a broad range of scientific disciplines.
As part of her award, Dr. Shin, an Assistant Professor in CRI and Pediatrics at UT Southwestern, will receive $300,000 in flexible funding during the next three years to support her high-impact research studying lysosome function and its dysregulation in diseases. Lysosomes are recycling centers inside cells where proteins and lipids are digested to release nutrients that can be used for cellular growth and proliferation.
Dr. Shin joined CRI and established her laboratory in January 2024, following her postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and groundbreaking discovery of LYCHOS, a cholesterol sensor in lysosomes.
Lysosomes, in addition to being cellular waste disposal units, have emerged scientifically as multifaceted organelles and pivotal hubs for cellular metabolism and signaling. LYCHOS is a unique fusion protein that combines features of both signaling and transporter proteins, enabling it to sense cholesterol levels and regulate metabolism.
“There is growing consensus that ‘healthy’ lysosomes are key for healthy life. Lysosome dysfunction has emerged as a critical factor for many age-related diseases, like Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia and some cancers,” Dr. Shin said. “In addition, lysosome storage diseases (LSDs) are rare diseases caused by mutations in lysosome genes that predominately, and often significantly, affect children.”
Her CRI lab seeks to understand the intrinsic roles of lysosomes and their regulatory functions in cellular and organismal homeostasis, with a goal to identify therapeutic targets for a wide range of diseases, Dr. Shin added.
Dr. Shin grew up in France and earned a bachelor’s in biology and Ph.D. in molecular biology from Seoul National University in South Korea. She has been awarded fellowships from the American Association for Cancer Research and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
“I’m honored and thrilled to be named a Searle Scholar and for the program’s support to continue this important research at CRI,” Dr. Shin said. “This is one of the best places you could imagine starting your own lab. We’re relentlessly dedicated to groundbreaking discoveries, and the Institute’s track record speaks for itself.”
Since 1981, more than 700 scientists have been named Searle Scholars, including CRI Director Sean J. Morrison, Ph.D. Of those scholars, 85 have been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, including Dr. Morrison, and two have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
About CRI
Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) is a joint venture of UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center Dallas. CRI’s mission is to perform transformative biomedical research to better understand the biological basis of disease. Located in Dallas, Texas, CRI is home to interdisciplinary groups of scientists and physicians pursuing research at the interface of regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and metabolism — relentless discovery toward the treatments of tomorrow.
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