Three members of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) are among the 13 scientists that will be honored by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) with awards recognizing extraordinary scientific achievement in the field of microbiology:
- Bonnie L. Bassler, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Squibb Professor in the department of molecular biology at Princeton University, and current president of the ASM, will receive the Richard Lounsbery Award. Bassler is being honored for her pioneering discoveries of the universal use of chemical communication among bacteria and the elucidation of structural and regulatory mechanisms controlling bacterial assemblies. This $50,000 prize recognizes extraordinary scientific achievement by French and American scientists in biology and medicine.
- Carol A. Gross, professor in the departments of microbiology and immunology and of cell and tissue biology at University of California, San Francisco, will receive the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology. Gross is being honored for her pioneering studies on mechanisms of gene transcription and its control, and for defining the roles of sigma factors during homeostasis and under stress. The award recognizes excellence in the field of microbiology and comes with a $5,000 prize.
- H. Boyd Woodruff , president of Soil Microbiology Associates Inc., will receive the NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science. Woodruff is being honored for leading the development of multiple antibiotics, vitamin B12, and the avermectins, the latter revolutionizing parasite treatment in livestock and humans. The award, established by IBM in honor of Ralph E. Gomory, recognizes applications in industry of significant achievements in science and is presented in this year in the field of agricultural science. The recipient receives a prize of $25,000.
The recipients will be honored in a ceremony on Sunday, May 1, during the National Academy of Sciences' 148th annual meeting. Further information on the awards can be found on the NAS website at http://www.nasonline.org.
The American Society for Microbiology, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest single life science association, with 40,000 members worldwide. Its members work in educational, research, industrial, and government settings on issues such as the environment, the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, laboratory and diagnostic medicine, and food and water safety. The ASM's mission is to gain a better understanding of basic life processes and to promote the application of this knowledge for improved health and economic and environmental well-being.