NAS Award in Molecular Biology

The NAS Award in Molecular Biology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States." It has been awarded annually since its inception in 1962. [1]

List of NAS Award in Molecular Biology winners

Source: NAS

For her discovery of microbial mechanisms underlying geologic processes, thereby launching the field of molecular geomicrobiology and transforming our understanding of how the Earth evolved.

For the development of a high-resolution microscopy method (STORM) that allows molecular-scale resolution, by bypassing the ‘diffraction limit’ that has long shackled light microscopy. In addition, she developed the photo-switchable fluorescent dyes that have made this method a powerful and critical tool in many areas of biological research and neuroscience.

For his discovery of components and regulators of the mTOR kinase pathway and his elucidation of the important roles of this signaling pathway in nutrient sensing, cell physiology, and cancer.

For the isolation and in vitro characterization of a functional kinetochore complex, and for the use of that system to explore kinetochore function.

For his creative use of elegant biochemistry both in elucidating an unsuspected role for polyubiquitin in a kinase-signaling cascade important for cancer and immunity and in discovering a novel link between innate immunity and a mitochondrial membrane protein that forms prion-like polymers to trigger antiviral responses.

For elucidating the structures of topoisomerases and helicases and providing insights into the biochemical mechanisms that mediate the replication and transcription of DNA.

By using X-chromosome inactivation as a model system, Lee has made unique contributions to our understanding of epigenetic regulation on a global scale, including the role of long, non-coding RNAs, interchromosomal interactions, and nuclear compartmentalization.

For groundbreaking studies illuminating the mechanisms of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells.

For groundbreaking studies that have provided insight into the mechanism of the central process of chromosome segregation and the regulation of segregation.

For elucidation of the enzymatic engine for RNA interference.

For establishing a new mode of regulation of gene expression in which metabolites regulate the activity of their cognate pathways by directly binding to mRNA.

For his discoveries on the repertoire of catalytic RNA and the analysis of micro RNA genes and their targets.

For his biochemical studies of apoptosis which have resolved a molecular pathway leading in and out of the mitochondrion.

For inventing methods to inactivate genes by RNA interference and helping to elucidate their underlying mechanism and biological function.

For his innovative contributions at the forefront of the field of cell cycle checkpoints and his elucidation of pathways and mechanisms involved in DNA damage responses.

For contributions to our understanding of signal transduction, regulation of protein movement into and out of the nucleus, and how phosphorylation controls protein activity.

For his intellectual leadership in functional genomics, most notably the development of a reliable and accessible DNA microarray system to measure genome-wide gene expression.

For his contributions in analyzing genes that establish asymmetric body patterns and control limb development in vertebrates.

For his studies of a developmental morphogen, its processing and structure, and its covalent attachment to cholesterol.

For their performance of elegant experiments to resolve the molecular components responsible for controlling neurotransmitter vesicle release and chemical communication within the nervous system.

For his insightful contributions to our understanding of gene regulation networks and molecular mechanisms governing the development of organisms with a segmented body plan.

For his elucidation, by experiments elegant in their simplicity, of the relationship between the ends of yeast chromosomes and transcriptional silencing.

For independently developing in vitro evolution of RNA catalysts. Their work produced RNA enzymes with novel specificities, while illuminating our view of natural selection.

For his pathfinding research in structural biology, which has elucidated both the pathway of protein folding and mechanisms of macromolecular recognition.

For their creative use of genetics and molecular biology to define how sex is determined in Drosophila. Their experiments have shown how the ratio of sex chromosomes to autosomes can initiate a novel regulatory pathway involving RNA processing.

For advancing our understanding of transcriptional regulation by devising novel strategies and applying elegant biochemistry to reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying gene expression and development.

For her discovery of the nature of DNA at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and the enzyme that is necessary to complete chromosomal replication.

For bringing about remarkable advances in our understanding of transposition and other forms of genetic recombination.

For significant contributions to the genetic analysis of the development of cell lineages in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

For the astonishing discovery of RNA-catalyzed self-splicing of introns and the analysis of the chemistry of RNA-catalyzed reactions.

For his pioneering studies of eukaryotic RNA polymerases and the factors that regulate their activity.

For adding a new dimension to eukaryotic genetics and developmental biology by developing a method to introduce and stably integrate cloned genes into the germ cells of living Drosophila.

For the identification and characterization of cellular oncogenes of human and animal tumors, thereby providing seminal insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

For his ingenious studies of the topological properties of the DNA double helix and his discovery of the important class of enzymes known as DNA topoisomerases.

For contributing to our understanding of how RNA molecules are recognized by enzymes and discovering the roles played by small ribonucleoprotein molecules in RNA processing.

For their outstanding contributions to the molecular biology of the simple eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both have opened vistas of genetic analysis by the development of new methods, in particular, the development and utilization of molecular cloning in yeast.

For his pioneering and continuing contributions to our understanding of messenger RNA biogenesis in mammalian cells.

For his outstanding contributions to our understanding of gene regulation through the studies of the virus Lambda.

For elucidating mechanisms of passage of secreted proteins into and across membranes.

For his contributions to the understanding of eukaryotic, viral, and cellular messenger RNAs.

For his innovative use of molecular and cell biological tools to analyze the genome of an oncogenic virus.

For the isolation of proteins required for DNA replication and genetic recombination and the elucidation of how they interact with DNA.

For his distinguished leadership in virus research, and for his discoveries on the reproduction and enzymology of RNA viruses that has greatly advanced the science of molecular biology.

For his studies of the structure, regulation, and evolution of genes in animals, particularly the genes specifying ribosomal RNA in Xenopus and silk fibroin in Bombix.

For his work leading to the discovery of reverse transcription.

For his studies on the structure and function of ribosomes and their molecular components.

For his discovery that pure phage lambda DNA can infect susceptible bacterial cells and produce progeny, and for the effect of this discovery on the whole field of bacterial virus genetics.

For his genetic dissection of the mechanism of assembly of the bacterial virus particle and reconstruction of the virus in vitro.

For his signal contribution to the understanding of the regulatory mechanisms operative in genetic control of protein synthesis.

For his elucidation of the full sequence of nucleotides in the molecule of a soluble RNA.

For his discovery of RNA bacteriophages, a new class of bacteria-attacking viruses, which have provided researchers with a highly valuable and convenient method of studying fundamental processes in all living cells.

For his development and application of the method of "conditional lethal mutants" for the analysis of the genetic control of morpho-genesis at the molecular level.

For his achievements in demonstrating how changes in the gene produce changes in the way protein is made in the body.

For his leading role in developing and applying methods to measure the transmission of genetic information in the cell.

For his studies of the molecular mechanisms for the biosynthesis of protein.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NAS Award in Molecular Biology". NAS. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
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