"Along with Amersham Biosciences, Science is committed to supporting up-and-coming scientists," said Monica Bradford, Executive Editor of Science. "The future of molecular biology rests on the next generation of researchers, and we are proud to be part of the prize, which nutures these men and women and the important studies they conduct."
The co-sponsored prize recognizes and rewards outstanding scientists that have completed their Ph.D. in a molecular biology subject* during 2001. Both Amersham Biosciences and Science believe that support of scientists at the beginning of their careers is critical for continued scientific progress. The grand prize winner will have his or her thesis paper published in Science, the weekly global research publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and will receive $25,000 USD at the awards ceremony. In recognition of the global nature of science, the prize categories also include regional winners.
"Attention is moving from identifying genes and proteins to developing a real understanding of the role they play in living organisms and in the cause of disease, often called functional biology," said Andrew Carr, CEO of Amersham Biosciences. "The Science prize has recognized young scientists who have already made a significant contribution in this field. Encouraging scientific progress and ultimately enhancement of health care is the goal of the prize."
Past winners of the prize have significantly advanced the progress of turning the promise of molecular medicine into a reality and have seen the prize as a stepping stone in their career. Jamie H. Cate, the 1998 grand prize winner, went on to win further recognition for the best paper published in Science for her paper "Crystal Structure of the Ribosome at 5.5 X Resolution." (Science; 292:883-896)
To be eligible for the prize, entrants must submit a 1,000-word essay and an entry form, which can be found at www.amershamscienceprize.org. Materials must be submitted in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, or Chinese (Mandarin). The deadline for entries is July 15, 2002.
Science, a leading international weekly covering all disciplines, is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific organization. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world.
Amersham Biosciences, the life sciences business of Amersham plc (LSE: NYSE: OSE: AHM) is a world leader in developing and providing integrated systems and solutions for disease research, drug development and manufacture. Our systems are used to uncover the function of genes and proteins, for the discovery and development of drugs and for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. The customers for Amersham Biosciences' products and technologies are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions, principally in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
* For the purpose of this prize, molecular biology is defined as "that part of biology which attempts to interpret biological events in terms of the physico-chemical properties of molecules in a cell" (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th edition).