Bethesda, MD — The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2009 Distinguished Service Award and the Emily M. Gray Award, as well as the Society's 2009 Fellows. All of the award winners and Fellows will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony during the Biophysical Society's 53rd Annual Meeting on Monday March 2, 2009 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jeremy M. Berg of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH, will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his active and continuous support for biomedical research in general, and biophysics in particular, and the successful and creative leadership he has demonstrated in these activities. His longstanding support stems from his deep knowledge in the sciences basic to medicine and health, anchored in his own research career and the important contributions he has made to understanding the structural and functional roles of proteins in key physiological functions. The Distinguished Service Award, established by the Biophysical Society, honors service in the field of biophysics and for contributions beyond achievements in research.
Philip C. Nelson, University of Pennsylvania, will receive the Emily M. Gray Award for his far reaching and significant contributions to the teaching of biophysics, developing innovative educational materials, and fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in Biological Physics. The Award is given for significant contributions to education in biophysics whether by teaching, developing novel educational methods or materials, promoting scientific outreach efforts to the public or to youth, generating a track record of attracting new students to the field of biophysics, or by otherwise fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in biophysics.
Five Biophysical Society members have been named to the 2009 class of Society Fellows. This award is designed to honor the Society's distinguished members who have demonstrated excellence in science and to the expansion of the field of biophysics. The Fellows are:
Donald M. Bers, University of California, Davis, for his contributions to the field of cellular and molecular biology of excitation contraction and coupling in the heart;
Betty Gaffney, Florida State University, for being in the investigative forefront of spin labeling technology and electron paramagnetic resonance, the structure and dynamics of biological membranes, and the mechanisms of lipoxygenase function;
Robert Jernigan, Baker Center for Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Plant Sciences Institute, Iowa State University, for his distinguished research and leadership in coarse-grained studies of proteins and their interactions;
Mark T. Nelson, University of Vermont, for his important contributions to explaining complex physiological processes in smooth muscle function; and
Diane Papazian, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, for her contributions to the physiology and biophysics of ion channels and how mutation in such channels are linked to diseases.
The Biophysical Society, founded in 1956, is a professional, scientific society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 8200 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the society or the 2009 annual meeting, visit www.biophysics.org.