Leanne Duke, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate with the Viral Vector Core and Gene Editing Core at the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, has been named one of the 2026 winners of the prestigious Journal of Biological Chemistry/Herbert Tabor Early Career Investigator Award. The honor recognizes outstanding contributions from emerging scientists in the field of biochemistry.

Duke earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Florida State University’s College of Medicine in 2024, where she conducted research under Robert J. Tomko Jr. Her award-winning work examined small extracellular vesicles, tiny cellular packages that transport proteins and other molecules between cells.

Her research showed that the protein CD9 regulates how CD63 is trafficked and packaged into these vesicles, influencing their cargo and interactions with recipient cells. The findings advance understanding of cellular communication and may inform efforts to develop “designer” vesicles for targeted therapeutic delivery.