News Release

American Society for Microbiology honors Douglas Weibel

Grant and Award Announcement

American Society for Microbiology

Washington, DC—June 24, 2008— The 2008 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) ICAAC Young Investigator Award will be presented to Douglas Weibel, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Sponsored by the ASM, this award recognizes early career scientists for excellence in research in microbiology and infectious diseases.

Dr. Weibel's work while a graduate student at Cornell focused on revealing the structures of natural products that are used by insects for defense. Through his chemical background, Dr. Weibel was able to make great advances in this area. Presently, Dr. Weibel investigates how bacteria respond to the environment. He has found a way to control the peptidoglycan synthesis of Escherichia coli, which was shown by his ability to transform these cells into different shapes. Through this research he hopes to explore the role specific bacterial proteins play in determining cell shape. Dr. Weibel also investigates how the chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces play a role in the differentiation and growth of bacterial cells, which has implications for understanding microbial life cycles. As a result of his extensive research, Dr. Weibel has won numerous awards and published over thirty peer-reviewed publications and reviews.

Dr. Weibel received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He then received his M.S. and his Ph.D., both in Chemistry, from Cornell University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

The ICAAC Young Investigator Award will be presented during ASM's 48th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy/46th IDSA Annual Meeting, October 25 – October 28, 2008 in Washington, DC. ASM is the world's oldest and largest life science organization and has more than 43,000 members worldwide. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences and promote the use of scientific knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.

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