Pipettes and Politics ASBMB

John Boothroyd, a professor and administrator at Stanford University, won the 2022 Alice and C. C. Wang Award in Molecular Parasitology, which recognizes established investigators who are making seminal contributions to the field of molecular parasitology. Boothroyd leads a lab that studies the pathogenesis of parasitic infections, in particular Toxoplasma gondii.

He presented his award lecture, "How one eukaryote invades and co-opts the cells of another: The story of the truly audacious Toxoplasma gondii" on Monday, April 4, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, in Philadelphia. Learn more about his work: https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/122421/boothroyd-honored-for-toxoplasma-gondii-research.

Tatyana Sharpee, a professor and chair at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, won the 2022 DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences, which recognizes the most accessible and innovative development or application of computer technology to enhance research in the life sciences at the molecular level. Sharpee’s lab studies how the brain and other biological systems work while their components are developing and aging. Her team uses information theory to quantify the activity of neurons.

She presented her award lecture, "Hyperbolic geometry in biological systems," on Monday, April 4, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, in Philadelphia. Learn more about her work: https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/120821/sharpee-sees-many-ways-of-looking-at-a-tree.

Susan S. Taylor, a distinguished professor at the University of California, San Diego, won the 2022 Herbert Tabor Research Award, which is given for excellence in biological chemistry and molecular biology and contributions to the community of scientists. Taylor has done pioneering structural studies of protein kinase A, revealing fundamental themes for all protein kinases. She presented her award lecture, "My journey with cAMP-dependent protein kinase," on Sunday, April 3, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, in Philadelphia. Learn more about her work: https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/122321/taylor-s-career-began-as-a-med-school-detour.

Tracy Johnson, dean of life sciences and a professor at UCLA and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor, won the 2022 Ruth Kirschstein Diversity in Science Award, which the ASBMB Minority Affairs Committee gives to an outstanding scientist who has shown a strong commitment to the encouragement of underrepresented minorities to enter the scientific enterprise and/or to the effective mentorship of those within it. Her lab studies the mechanisms of co-transcriptional pre-mRNA splicing in yeast. She presented her award lecture, "Beyond diversity: Building a culture of inclusion in science," on Tuesday, April 5, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, in Philadelphia. Learn more about her work: https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/120921/johnson-wants-every-student-to-feel-they-belong.

Elaine Fuchs, a professor at the Rockefeller University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, won the 2022 Bert and Natalie Vallee Award in Biomedical Science. Established in 2012 by the Bert and Natalie Kuggie Vallee Foundation, this award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in basic biomedical research. She presented her award lecture, "Tissue stem cells: survival of the fittest," on Tuesday, April 5, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting held in conjunction with Experimental Biology. Learn more about her work:https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/122221/fuchs-goes-boldly-where-no-stem-cell-biologist.

J. Martin Bollinger Jr., a professor at the Pennsylvania State University, won the 2022 William C. Rose Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of younger scientists. He presented his award lecture, "Progress Toward Understanding Protein Control of Reaction Outcome in the Diverse Reactivity of Iron(II)- and 2-Oxoglutarate-dependent Oxygenases" on Sunday, April 3, at the 2022 ASBMB Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Experimental Biology, in Philadelphia. Learn more about his work: https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/121021/bollinger-built-a-bioinorganic-powerhouse-at-penn.