Assistant Professor Heidi Hehnly is investigating the roots of disease with the help of three grants. A biotechnologist at the College of Arts and Sciences, Hehnly wants to learn more about the molecular causes of disease while also promoting a better understanding of the importance of creativity in research and is pushing the limits of cellular and developmental biology. Last November, she received two grants: $1.2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the relationship between tissue creation and developmental abnormalities, and $562,000 from the Department of Defense to investigate a cancer-causing gene. She is also working on a $1.7 million NIH research on ciliopathies, which are genetic abnormalities caused by faulty or malfunctioning cilia on cells.