Awards and Honors | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and its departments of Biochemistry, Cell & Developmental Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular & Integrative Physiology recognize outstanding undergraduate, graduate, faculty, staff, and alumni with several awards and fellowships. In addition to school and departmental honors, MCB is always thrilled to highlight awards from other campus units, and national/international organizations. Some of the most recent news stories spotlighting our community are listed below.

Professor John Gerlt named the 2017 Gordon Hammes Lectureship winner

2017-05-22

The lectureship is sponsored by the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and the American Chemical Society’s “Biochemistry” journal.

Chris Seward's image "Clear Mind" takes 2nd place in Image of Research contest

2017-05-11

Novel imaging techniques are necessary for examining whole brain protein expression patterns. Animal brains are large, complex structures that are difficult to image comprehensively. Neurons can be several inches long, while only a few nanometers in width and can branch in many directions...

Dennis Dalby wins the 2017 Staff Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

2017-05-10

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) bestows a Staff Award to identify and honor selected staff members for their outstanding contributions to the college. Recipients receive a $2000 award and a commemorative plaque that was presented to Dennis

Dr. Supriya Prasanth, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, awarded the Lynn M. Martin Award for Distinguished Women Teachers

2017-05-09

Named for the founder of the award, the Lynn M. Martin Award for Distinguished Women Teachers is designated to promote exceptional achievement in undergraduate teaching by women. Two awards (one for Teaching Assistants and one for Faculty members) are awarded by the College of Liberal Arts and...

Inhibitory neurons in green and neuron bundles expressing a protein that is triggered by a social experience in red.

2017-05-03

Two LAS students have been honored in U of I's annual Image of Research competition, in which graduate students pair powerful images with compelling descriptions of research. Out of a pool of 20 finalists, Chris Seward, a graduate student in cell and developmental biology, won second place, and...

John Cronan elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences

2017-05-12

Election to the NAS is one of the highest professional honors a scientist can garner. Chosen by their peers, the 2,290 members and 475 foreign associates are an elite group distinguished by their outstanding contributions to the fields of science and technology.

Emad Tajkhorshid named the J. Woodland Hastings Endowed Chair in Biochemistry

2017-05-01

A world leader in developing and applying advanced computational techniques to understand proteins, Tajkhorshid has been named the J. Woodland Hastings Endowed Chair in Biochemistry.

Growing Blood Vessels in the Lab

2016-12-31

With the goal of providing a ready supply of vessels, Laura Niklason created a prototype engineered blood vessel in 1997, and in 2012 an advanced version was used successfully in the first human patient. The FDA has fast-tracked the engineered blood vessel, moving it into Phase 3 human clinical...

James Spudich Receives a 2016 Alumni Achievement Award for his groundbreaking research on how we move

2016-12-31

Spudich has made his mark with pioneering discoveries on molecular motors—the tiny powerhouses responsible for movement at the cellular level. For this research, he has won a 2016 Alumni Achievement Award—one in a long line of honors. He also won the prestigious Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research...

Two Molecular and Integrative Physiology Graduate Students Make Final Round of Graduate College’s Research Live! Competition

2016-12-16

The competition draws entrants from across the College, and entrants are challenged to explain their graduate work in 3 minutes with only 2 slides. Presentations were scored on delivery, clarity, effectiveness of visual material, and accessibility of language.