BETHESDA, MD--SEPTEMBER 24, 2015-- Three early career cell biology researchers at Princeton, UC Berkeley, and Baylor have won the American Society for Cell Biology's first-ever ASCB-Gibco Emerging Leaders Prizes. Each will receive $5,000.
Clifford Brangwynne, Assistant Professor at Princeton University, won for discovering that nonmembrane bound cellular compartments can form by liquid-liquid phase separation, which has launched a completely new research field at the interface of biology and physics. Ahmet Yildiz, Assistant Professor at University of California, Berkeley, won for advancing the field of single molecule biophysics, including his work on understanding the mechanism of the motor protein dynein and maintenance of chromosomes' telomeres. Meng Wang, Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, won for her work on metabolism and aging, especially her discovery that fat metabolism plays an important role in regulating lifespan.
The selection committee said Brangwynne's, Yildiz's, and Wang's research are driving cell biology into exciting and emerging fields. All three are also exceptional mentors and educators, the committee noted. Seven additional Gibco finalists will be invited to attend a special event with leaders in their field at the 2015 ASCB Meeting in San Diego. All 10 winners and finalists will be recognized before the E.B. Wilson Lecture on Tuesday, December 15.
The prizes were underwritten by Gibco, a brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific, that manufactures cell culture reagents designed to deliver reproducibility and performance.
Finalists:
###
Contact: John Fleischman, jfleischman@ascb.org