The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is pleased to announce that Wei Qin, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, has received the 2027 Award for Early Career Environmental Research from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
ASM is a life sciences organization that boasts more than 38,000 microbiology professionals worldwide. Founded in 1899, it has offered various awards “to highlight individuals who have made significant contributions to advance the field and their institutions” for nearly 40 years. Professor Qin is one of 20 scientists who received awards.
“It is a tremendous honor to receive this recognition from ASM, especially as a member of our department with such a rich and long-standing tradition in microbial physiology and environmental microbiology,” said Qin. “I see this award not only as recognition of my own early career work, but also as an honor shared by my entire lab.”
Qin’s lab studies marine and soil microbes and their roles in biogeochemistry, the nitrogen cycle, ecology, and the environment, as well as how they adapt to environmental stress and change. He joined the Illinois faculty in 2025 after earning his PhD from the University of Washington in 2016. Qin has been recognized with the Department of Energy Early Career Award, the Simons Foundation Early Career Award in Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Evolution, and earned a Sloan Foundation Fellowship earlier this year.
“Nitrifying microorganisms are often considered fastidious and challenging microbes to cultivate and study, but those challenges are also what make them so fascinating,” Qin said. “This recognition encourages us to continue pushing forward our work on nitrification and environmental microbiology, and to better understand the physiology, ecology, and climatic and environmental impacts of these biogeochemically important microorganisms.
“I am deeply grateful to my mentors, collaborators, colleagues, and lab members whose continued support and contributions have shaped my lab research over the years,” he added.
As an ASM award recipient, Qin earned an honorarium and has been invited to present his research and be recognized at the next ASM Microbe meeting in June 2027 in Chicago.
