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ISI ScienceWatch features John Storey in Fast Moving Fronts article
11/16/2009 - A November article on ScienceWatch.com discusses
a highly cited 2005 paper by Associate Professor of Molecular Biology
and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, John
Storey, and colleagues. The paper, titled "Significance analysis of
time course microarray experiments," was published in the Proceedings of the National
Academies of Science, and provided a groundbreaking statistical approach
for analyzing gene expression studies carried out over a period of time.
Biology@Princeton graduate program launched
10/28/2009 - Because education in the life sciences is increasingly multi-disciplinary,
a new program, Biology@Princeton,
provides greater flexibility for applicants as well as greater cohesion
among students and faculty in the program. Biology@Princeton comprises
the four core biology Graduate Programs of
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB),
Molecular Biology (MOL),
Neuroscience (NEU), and
Quantitative and Computational Biology (QCB).
The program offers an open curriculum, ease of movement across departmental lines, ease of
interdepartmental collaboration by faculty and students, and relatively
flexible rules and regulations.
During the online admission process, applicants select "Biology at
Princeton" from the Program Choices list. Then they rank their
preferences for a home program from among the four core programs.
Students are admitted into one home program, with the possibility of
transferring to another after they choose a thesis advisor. Visit
Biology@Princeton
for more information. The admission deadline is December 1.
Kruglyak work on NHGRI panel featured in Nature
10/7/2009 - Leonid Kruglyak, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Professor
of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, was part of an expert panel the
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) convened earlier this
year on the problem of missing heritability. The missing heritability
problem refers to the fact that despite major technology advances made
possible by the Human Genome Project, and studies of tens of thousands
of individuals, the great majority of the genetic factors responsible
for differences between individuals in disease susceptibility and in
normal traits such as height have not been found.
Their work has led to a review article in Nature this
week, "Finding the Missing Heritability of Complex Diseases," reporting the panel's conclusions about the likely sources of this problem and the most promising future research directions for the human genetics community to uncover the genetic basis of human variation.
QCB@Princeton now a Ph.D. graduate program
9/23/2009 - QCB@Princeton is now a
full-fledged Ph.D. granting program with an application deadline of
December 1. Prospective students will apply directly to the
Quantitative and Computational Biology Department through the Graduate School.
Center for Quantitative Biology receives $15.54 million
8/7/2009 - The Lewis-Sigler Institute's Center for Quantitative Biology will receive $15.54 million over the
next five years to continue its research and teaching in biological
processes from aging to malaria by developing improved quantitative
models, data sets and computational analysis equipment and methods.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has renewed its 2004
grant that established the center as one of 10 National Centers for
Systems Biology funded by the institute, one of the National Institutes
of Health.
Institute Director David Botstein leads the center with co-principal investigator James Broach, a professor of molecular biology.
Joshua Shaevitz is named a 2009 Pew Scholar
6/16/09 - Joshua Shaevitz, an Assistant Professor of physics and member of the
Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been named a 2009
PEW Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, one
of 17 promising early- to mid-career biomedical researchers in the
nation to be honored. The grants are awarded by The Pew Charitable
Trusts and the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). Each
Scholar will receive $240,000 over four years to undertake research on a
biomedical science project of their choosing. Shaevitz's research aims
to determine how bacteria use mechanical forces to affect cell shape,
motility, chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. (Read more)
Coleen Murphy's research on aging featured in PWB
6/15/09 - Coleen Murphy, an Assistant Professor of molecular biology and member of the
Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, is the subject of an
article in the June 15 issue of Princeton Weekly Bulletin
describing her innovative research on aging. Murphy's research with C.
elegans, a hermaphroditic worm, aims to understand the genetic
mechanisms controlling the beginning and end of a lifeform's
reproductive capability, and could lead to learning how to exert control
over it. And a grant from the Keck Foundation supports research into
whether cognitive decline with age can be measured in worms by
identifying the genes critical for the maintenance of higher neuronal
activities, in particular, learning and memory, during aging. (Read more)
John Hopfield receives IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award
5/8/2009 - John Hopfield, the Howard A. Prior Professor of Life Sciences in the Department of Molecular Biology and
the Lewis-Sigler Institute, will receive the 2009 IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award on
June 17 in Atlanta. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to
the advancement of the design, practice, techniques or theory in
biologically and linguistically motivated computational paradigms. (Read
more)
Researchers launch website that helps translate genetic data into medical therapies
5/4/2009 - Researchers led by Olga Troyanksaya, an Assistant Professor of
Computer Science and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics, have developed a website, HEFalMp, that provides a functional map
of the human genome to help scientists determine which genes might be
involved in certain diseases. Partially funded by the Institute's
NIH/NIGMS Center for Quantitative Biology, the research was done in collaboration
with the laboratory of Hilary Coller
, Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, with the website being developed by Curtis Huttenhower, a postdoctoral researcher in the Troyanskaya lab.
The work, scheduled to be published in the May issue of Genome Research, is described for a lay audience in
the current issue of the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.
Joshua Bloom receives NSF Graduate Fellowship
4/10/2009 - Joshua Bloom, a graduate student in Leonid Kruglyak's lab, has been selected to
receive a 2009 National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) award. The Fellowship
provides three years of support for graduate study leading to
research-based master's or doctoral degrees and is intended for students
who are in the early stages of their graduate study. Mr. Bloom's
research proposal is titled "Genetics of Protein Abundance Variation."
Kruglyak Graduate Student Hannah Seidel is featured by The Scientist
4/1/2009 - The research of Hannah Seidel, a graduate student in Leonid
Kruglyak's group, is featured in this week's issue of The Scientist. The story
describes her discovery of a previously unnoticed genetic
incompatibility among C. elegans wild isolates. This incompatibility
causes embryonic lethality when worms from different isolates mate. Ms.
Seidel has identified two genes that are responsible for the
incompatibility. One gene is expressed in sperm and disrupts embryonic
development; the other is expressed in embryos and can reverse the
effect of the first gene.
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Joshua Shaevitz receives NSF CAREER Award
3/26/2009 - Joshua Shaevitz, an Assistant Professor of Physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The CAREER Program is intended for faculty members who are at or near the beginning of their careers. The funds, which are distributed over a five year period, total approximately $950,000. His research proposal is entitled "Organization and Force Production in Bacteria." (Read more about the proposal.)
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Stanislav Shvartsman receives Human Frontier Science Program Grant
3/23/2009 - Stanislav Shvartsman, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, along with collaborators in France, Germany, and Israel, has been awarded a Program Grant from the Human Frontier Science Program. The award funds novel collaborative research that actively involves all members of a multi-discplinary team. Their research proposal is entitled "Multiscale mechanisms of epithelial patterning and morphogenesis: theory and experiments."
Leonid Kruglyak highlighted in an Author column in Nature
3/19/09 - Leonid Kruglyak, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is the subject of an Author column in the March 19 issue of Nature. The feature is in connection with his Letter in the same issue, "Comprehensive polymorphism survey
elucidates population structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae", authored by Joseph Schacherer, Joshua A. Shapiro, Douglas M. Ruderfer, and Leonid Kruglyak.
Olga Troyanskaya featured in U.S. 1 Newspaper
3/18/09 - Olga Troyanskaya, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Assistant Professor of Computer Science, is featured in the current issue of U.S.
1 Newspaper. The article is about Professor Troyanskaya's participation in a Lunch 'n Learn panel on "Women in Research Computing," scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, at noon at the Frist Campus Center. The discussion, which is free, will be moderated by Betty Leydon, vice president for information technology and chief information officer. Additonal panelists are Emily Carter, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and applied and computational
mathematics, and Jennifer Rexford, professor of computer science. For information, call 609-258-6033.
Llinás lab research sheds light on poorly understood aspect of malaria
2/19/09 - Manuel Llinás, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, is featured on the University's website for a breakthrough in the study of malaria. His graduate student, Kellen Olszewski, is first author on a recently released paper in Cell Host & Microbe describing the work.
Working with a team from the Drexel University College of Medicine, and utilizing a mass spectrometry-based method developed in the neighboring Lewis-Sigler Institute laboratory of Joshua Rabinowitz, the researchers found that the parasite that causes malaria breaks down an important amino acid in its quest to adapt and thrive within the human body. By depleting this substance called arginine, the parasite may trigger a more critical and deadlier phase of the disease.
(read more)
Saeed Tavazoie wins grant as Blavatnik Award finalist
12/1/2008 - Saeed Tavazoie, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Associate Professor of Molecular
Biology, has been presented with a $10,000 grant as a finalist for the
New York Academy of Sciences 2008 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists.
Other Princeton researchers garnered three of the top five Awards, they
are Steven Gubser (Physics), Laura Landweber (Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology), and Andrew Houck (Electrical Engineering). The awards were
presented at the academy's fifth annual Science & the City Gala on Nov.
17 in New York. Gubser and Landweber each will receive $25,000 in
unrestricted funds for their work. Houck, who was recognized for his
work as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, will receive $15,000
in unrestricted funds for his research. (read more)
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty members Saeed Tavazoie and Coleen Murphy
receive prestigious NIH Awards
9/22/2008 - Two Institute faculty members have been honored with major
awards announced by the National Institutes of Health today.
Saeed Tavazoie, Lewis-Sigler
Institute member and Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, is the
recipient of a 2008 NIH Director's Pioneer Award. Pioneer Awards,
which provide $500,000 per year for five years, are designed to support
highly creative and pioneering scientists who propose exceptionally
innovative approaches with the potential for high impact on a
significant biomedical or behavioral research problem. Dr. Tavazoie's
research aims to establish a new paradigm for understanding microbial
behaviors from a cognitive perspective, and has the potential of
revolutionizing strategies for microbial control in both medicine and
industry.
Coleen Murphy,
Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Assistant Professor of Molecular
Biology, has been selected to receive a 2008 NIH Director's New
Innovator Award. Assistant Professor Zemer Gitai in the Department of
Molecular Biology is also a Princeton awardee. This award, aimed at
newer investigators, is also for highly innovative projects that could
have an exceptionally great impact on biomedical or behavioral science.
It provides $1.5 million in support over five years; Dr.Murphy will use
hers to study the causes of reproductive aging and help identify
candidates for the treatment and prevention of age-related reproductive
decline and maternal age-related birth defects.
Coleen Murphy receives Keck Award
7/28/08 - Coleen Murphy,
an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics is one of five recipients of a
2008 Keck Young Scholars in Medical Research Awards.
The W. M. Keck Foundation instituted the Distinguished Young Scholars Program in 1998
to support the nation's most promising young scientists involved in
cutting-edge biomedical research addressing the fundamental mechanisms
of human disease. Dr. Murphy's grant of up to one million dollars over
the next five years will support her research study to identify the
genes critical for the maintenance of higher neuronal activities, in
particular learning and memory, during aging
(read more).
John Hopfield selected for IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award
7/10/08 - John Hopfield,
the Howard A. Prior
Professor of Life Sciences in the Department of Molecular Biology and
the Lewis-Sigler Institute, is the recipient of the 2009
IEEE Frank Rosenblatt Award.
The Award -
sponsored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society - recognizes
outstanding contributions to the advancement of the design, practice,
techniques or theory in biologically and linguistically motivated
computational paradigms, including but not limited to neural networks,
connectionist systems, evolutionary computation, fuzzy systems and
hybrid intelligent systems in which these paradigms are contained in the
IEEE fields of interest. The award consists of a bronze medal,
certificate, and $10,000 prize.
Coleen Murphy receives ASCB Junior Career Award
6/20/08 -Coleen Murphy,
an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics is the recipient of an American Society of
Cell Biology Women in Cell Biology Committee Junior Career
Award. The Award is given to a woman in an early stage of her career
(generally less than five years in an independent position at the time
of nomination) who is making exceptional scientific contributions to
cell biology and exhibits the potential for continuing a high level of
scientific endeavor and leadership. She will receive the award in
December at the 48th annual meeting of the ASCB.
Olga Troyanskaya wins Phi Beta Kappa prize
6/2/08 - The Princeton Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa has awarded a prize for
excellence in teaching to Olga Troyanskaya, an Assistant Professor of
Computer Science and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics, and Joshua Katz, an Associate Professor of
Classics. The recipients were selected by the sixteen members of the
class of 2008 who were elected to Phi Beta Kappa in October. The Chapter
believes that the prizes, established in 2004, are the only
university-wide teaching prizes awarded solely by vote of
undergraduates. The fall inductees were charged with identifying those
characteristics that define excellence in undergraduate teaching, and
then were asked to select two members of the faculty whom they believe
exemplify those qualities. The awards were made on Class Day.
Leonid Kruglyak named as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
5/27/08 - Leonid
Kruglyak, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Professor of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology has been selected as an Investigator of the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Investigators, who receive
substantial research funds that free them up from having to apply for
other grants, are selected through a rigorous national
competitions. Once selected, HHMI investigators continue to be based
at their home institutions, typically leading a research group of
10-25 students, postdoctoral associates and technicians (read more about the award,
Professor
Kruglyak, and
the
University announcement ).
Institute Director David Botstein elected to American Philosophical
Society
5/20/08 - David Botstein, the Anthony B. Evnin '62 Professor of Genomics
and director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics,
has been elected to the American
Philosophical Society. The thirty-eight new members announced on
April 26 also include two other Princeton professors (read
more).
Coleen Murphy awarded McKnight Scholar Award
5/13/2008 - Coleen
Murphy, an Assistant Professor
of Molecular Biology and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics is the recipient of a McKnight Endowment Fund for
Neuroscience Scholar Award. The
Awards, which provide research support for three years, encourage
neuroscientists in the early stages of their careers to focus on
disorders of learning and memory. Dr. Murphy's research project is
entitled "Molecular Characterization of Long-Term Memory Maintenance
with Age."
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Joshua Shaevitz receives Human Frontier Science Program Award
4/1/2008 - Joshua Shaevitz, an Assistant Professor in physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, along with his collaborator Tâm Mignot at the IBSM- Structural Biology and Microbiology Institute in Marseilles, France, has been awarded a Young Investigators' research grant from the Human Frontier Science Program. The award funds collaborative research that actively involves all members of the team, providing $250,000 per year for three years. Their research proposal is entitled "Biophysics of bacterial gliding motility".
Susan Powell wins President's Achievement Award
3/27/08 - Lewis-Sigler Institute Assistant Director Susan M. Powell is
the recipient of a University President's Achievement Award
[http://www.princeton.edu/hr/recog/paawinners.htm]. The Award
recognizes members of the support and administrative staff with five or
more years of Princeton University service whose dedication and special
efforts have contributed significantly to the success of their
departments and the University. In his nomination, David Botstein, the
Anthony B. Evnin '62 Professor of Genomics and director of the
institute, wrote, "Susan has earned the respect and admiration of
everybody in the institute. She is the person to whom almost anyone will
turn first. She has been very creative in thinking of ways to fund, for
instance, research and teaching infrastructure, and has contributed many
of the ideas that ultimately have been accepted by funders. She has
managed funds flexibly and fairly, so that we have gotten more out of
each dollar as a result. Susan is an all-around outstanding
administrator, and deserves extraordinary recognition for an
extraordinary level of excellence and innovation in her work."
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Joshua
Shaevitz receives Sloan Research Fellowship
2/18/2008 - Joshua Shaevitz, an
Assistant Professor in physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics, has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship by
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Sloan Fellowship is an unrestricted
grant awarded to outstanding scientists and scholars early in their
careers. He will use his two-year grant of $45,000 to fund research on
the physical mechanisms of cell shape in bacteria.
Coleen Murphy awarded a March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award
1/7/2008 - Coleen
Murphy, an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and member of
the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics has been awarded a
March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award. The awards
support research on birth defects by young scientists just embarking
on independent research careers. The goal of Dr. Murphy's proposed
research is to identify genetic and molecular mechanisms that maintain
oocyte quality with age.
Coleen Murphy featured in Princeton Alumni Weekly article
12/3/2007 -
Coleen Murphy, an Assistant Professor
of Molecular Biology and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics, is the subject of a Breaking Ground column in the
November 21, 2007 Princeton Alumni Weekly.
The article describes how Murphy's lab studies biological
processes that decline before death in C. elegans. Learning about the
genes that govern those activities in worms could help to identify
analogous genes in humans.
Leonid Kruglyak selected to appear on
ISIHighlyCited.com
11/15/2007 - Leonid
Kruglyak, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Professor of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology has been selected to appear on ISIHighlyCited.com because of his exceptional citation count
in the field of Molecular Biology & Genetics. Less than one half of
one percent of all publishing authors meet the criteria for inclusion
on the website.
William Bialek and David Tank featured in a Princeton Weekly Bulletin article
11/12/2007 - Two Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty members have been featured in a Princeton Weekly Bulletin article titled "Together to fly:
Age-old question pushes scientists to step beyond their fields - into
each other's." The article describes how William Bialek and David Tank
worked with Molecular Biology faculty member Eric Wieschaus, and
Bialek's then-graduate student Thomas Gregor, to study how a fly's
embryonic cells determine their ultimate function in the adult fly,
drawing on the fields of biology and physics. The interdisciplinary
project yielded valuable information on signaling in embryonic
development and led to two papers in the Journal Cell. (Read more.)
Leonid Kruglyak elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
10/23/2007 - Leonid
Kruglyak, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology has been elected a Fellow
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon
members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for meritorious efforts
to advance science or its applications. Dr. Kruglyak's citation is for
"distinguished contributions to the study of variation in the human
genome and for pioneering genetic studies of gene expression variation." (Read more.)
Manuel Llinás receives an NIH
Director's New Innovator Award.
9/18/2007 - Manuel
Llinás, Lewis-Sigler Institute Member and Assistant Professor
of Molecular Biology, has been selected to receive an NIH Director's New
Innovator Award. The award provides $1.5 million in support over
five years, and will be used to define how metabolic pathways in the
malaria-causing organism interact with human cell pathways, as a means
of discovering new targets for treatment. (Read more.)
Manuel Llinás receives a Burroughs Wellcome Investigators award.
5/11/2007 - Manuel Llinás, Lewis-Sigler Institute Member and Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, has been selected to receive a Burroughs Wellcome Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award for Research. The award provides $500,000 of support, over five years, for U.S. and Canadian Scientists at the Assistant Professor Level. Dr. Llinás's research will focus on a global analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum metabolome, and will investigate the metabolic aspect of host-pathogen interactions in the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum as a means to identify novel drug targets.
New Integrated Science Website launched by Lewis-Sigler Institute
4/12/2007 - A new website has been launched for the Institute's Integrated Science
curriculum, describing the concept and advantages of this
multidisciplinary curriculum. The Integrated Science sequence is
suitable for any undergraduate considering concentrating in the
sciences or engineering at Princeton. The core training covers
introductory physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, all in
an integrated manner. The central role of mathematics as a universal
language of science is emphasized throughout. In the courses,
collaborative problem solving is stressed over memorization and
regurgitation of facts. Close contact between students and faculty is
a major feature of the new curriculum; class sizes are kept small.
Integrated Science curriculum featured in Princeton Weekly Bulletin
3/15/2007 - The Integrated Science curriculum, a joint effort by the
Institute and affiliated science departments, is the subject of a
feature article in the March 12 issue of the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.
The article, "Testing the boundaries of teaching science",
discusses the challenges and rewards of the three-year-old effort to dramatically
reorganize the manner in which scientific ideas are introduced to students.
Josh Rabinowitz featured in Princeton Weekly Bulletin
1/8/2007 - Josh
Rabinowiz, Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Assistant Professor
in Chemistry, is the subject of a feature article in the January 8
issue of the Princeton Weekly Bulletin. The article discusses
Rabinowitz's dual scientific background in both the industrial and
academic worlds and his current research at Princeton. (Read
more)
David Tank Awarded Spencer Medal
10/9/2006 - David Tank, a
Lewis-Sigler Institute member and Henry L. Hillman Professor in
Molecular Biology, who is also Co-director of the Program in
Neuroscience and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, received the Alden
Spencer Award from The Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at
Columbia University on September 29. Professor Winifred Denk of the
Max Planck Institute was a co-recipient. Dr. Tank's lecture
"Persistent Activity in Neural Integrators" was followed by the awards
ceremony. The Alden Spencer Award is given each year by the College
of Physicians and Surgeons in recognition of outstanding research
contributions in neural science.
Institute Director David Botstein's presentation to NIGMS.
9-15-2006 - Institute Director David Botstein recently made a presentation at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Council in Bethesda Maryland as the Co-Principal Investigator of
Princeton's NIGMS/NIH-funded Center for Quantitative Biology. His
presentation, "Center for Quantitative Biology at Princeton:
Infrastructure for Research and Teaching," is available as a
PowerPoint presentation (16.4 MB) or a
PDF file (50.8 MB).
Coleen Murphy is named a 2006 Pew Scholar.
06-22-2006 - Coleen Murphy, an Assistant Professor of molecular biology
and member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has
been named a 2006 PEW Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, one of fifteen
promising early- to mid-career biomedical researchers in the nation to
be honored. The grants are awarded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the
University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). Each Scholar will
receive $240,000 over four years to undertake research on a biomedical
science project of their choosing.
Professor Murphy also received the Sloan Fellowship earlier this year,
as well as an Ellison Medical Foundation Award, which she will
relinquish in order to accept the PEW. Her long-term research objective
is to discover the molecular basis of aging by studying the genetic
pathways that determine longevity.
(Read more).
Olga Troyanskaya Receives Howard Wentz Award.
6/9/2006 - Olga Troyanskaya, assistant professor of computer science,
won the Howard Wentz Award. Troyanskaya joined the Princeton faculty in
2003 and holds a joint appointment in the Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics. She works at the intersection of molecular biology
and computer science, developing computational methods for the analysis
of gene expression data. Her work has led to the identification of
multiple chromosomal changes in biopsies of breast cancer patients. The
full story of the event can be found
here.
William Bialek receives one of four President's Awards for Distinguished Teaching.
6/6/2006 - William Bialek, the John Archibald Wheeler/Battelle Professor
in Physics and Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member, is one of four
Princeton faculty members receiving the President's Awards for
Distinguished Teaching at Commencement ceremonies June 6.
Bialek is one of the architects of the Institute's new integrated
science curriculum for undergraduates, which involves faculty from
chemistry, computer science, molecular biology and physics.
(Read more.)
Coleen Murphy receives an Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholars in Aging award.
6/5/2006 - Coleen Murphy, an Assistant Professor in molecular biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been awarded an
Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholars in Aging award. The Ellison Medical Foundation Aging
Program supports basic biomedical research on aging relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities.
The award is $50,000 per year over four years. Murphy's long-term objective is to discover the molecular basis of aging by studying the
genetic pathways that determine longevity.
Curtis Huttenhower receives an Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni
(APGA) Teaching Award
5/18/2006 - Curtis Huttenhower, a Department of Computer Science
Graduate Student in Institute faculty member Olga Troyanskaya's lab, has
been awarded an Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) Teaching
Award for his work as an Assistant in Instruction for CHM/COS/MOL/PHY
231-234, the freshman integrated science course organized by the
Institute. The APGA and the Friends of the International Center fund a
competition each year to recognize and honor those graduate students who
have made a significant contribution to undergraduate teaching. Mr.
Huttenhower was nominated by his department, supported by his students
and, along with four other AIs, chosen by the Teaching Award Selection
Committee for this distinction.
Faculty Member Manuel Llinás is Awarded a Young Investigator grant.
3/28/2006 - The Arnold and
Mabel Beckman Foundation has awarded Institute and Molecular
Biology Faculty member
Manuel Llinás a $264,000 Young Investigator grant for his
work, "Identifying key regulators of the Plasmodium falciparum
transcriptome using whole-genome approaches."
Each year the Beckman Foundation also sponsors a symposium, which
highlights the work of four classes of Beckman Young Investigators.
The symposium will be held at the Beckman Center of the National
Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, California in late
August.
Institute researchers develop faster, inexpensive way to sequence genes
3/9/2006 - A group of Institute researchers have developed a new straightforward,
cost-effective sequencing method that is providing key data in days
rather than months. The approach, described in the March 9 issue of Science,
involves using a new type of microarray and innovative computational
techniques to compare sequences and identify subtle differences
between genomes. (Read
more)
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Coleen Murphy
receives Sloan Research Fellowship
2/24/2006 - Coleen Murphy,
an Assistant Professor in molecular biology and the
Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been awarded a
Sloan Research Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Sloan
Fellowship is an unrestricted grant awarded to outstanding scientists
and scholars early in their careers. She will use her two-year grant of
$45,000 to fund investigations into the maintenance of neuronal function
during aging using the model system C. elegans. Because much of the
genome (85%) of C. elegans is shared with humans, this work could
eventually result in treatments for aging- and aging-disease-associated
neurodegenerative disorders.
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Olga
Troyanskaya receives NSF CAREER Award
2/6/2006 - Olga Troyanskaya,
an Assistant Professor of computer science and the Lewis-Sigler
Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been awarded an NSF CAREER
Award by the The National Science Foundation. She will use her award
of $1,000,692 over five years to combine computational and
experimental techniques for analyzing networks of biological processes
within organisms. The CAREER program, NSF's most prestigious grants
for scientists early in their careers, supports young, tenure-track
"teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and
education within the context of the mission of their organization."
The grants are intended to "build a firm foundation for a lifetime of
integrated contributions to research and education." (Read more:
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S13/95/36K00/index.xml?sectio
n=announcements)
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member Manuel
Llinás wins American Society for Microbiology award
11/21/05 - The American Society for Microbiology and the American Academy of
Microbiology have selected Institute faculty member Manuel
Llinás as one of two recipients of the 2006 Merck
Irving S. Sigal Memorial Award from the American Society of Microbiology. The awards recognize and reward excellence in basic research in medical microbiology and infectious disease. They are presented in memory of Irving S. Sigal, who was instrumental in the early discovery of therapies to treat HIV/AIDS.
Lewis-Sigler Institute faculty member David
Tank to co-direct new neuroscience institute
11/16/2005 - Princeton University is expanding its teaching and
research capabilities in neuroscience -- considered by many the next
field ripe for significant scientific breakthroughs -- by launching an
institute that will bridge many disciplines and take a new approach to
studying the brain and nervous system. The new endeavor will be
co-directed by Jonathan Cohen, the Eugene Higgins Professor of
Psychology, and David Tank, the Henry Hillman Professor in Molecular
Biology, who has a joint appointment in physics and who is also a
member of the Lewis-Sigler Institute (read more).
Lewis-Sigler Institute launches QCB @ Princeton website
for Graduate Program
10/06/05 - The Lewis-Sigler Institute
encourages prospective Princeton University graduate students to
consider the multi-discliplinary program in Quantitative and Computational
Biology (QCB). The program provides graduate education at the
interface of biology with the physical and computational sciences.
QCB currently includes five actively participating departments:
Chemistry, Computer Science, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Molecular Biology and Physics. A total of 70 faculty representing 12
departments have joined the program. Ph.D. degrees will be offered by
the collaborating academic departments with some indication of the
interdisciplinary nature of the thesis.
John Hopfield earns Einstein World Award of Science
08/11/05 - John Hopfield, an endowed professor of molecular biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been selected to receive the 2005 Albert Einstein World Award of Science by the World Cultural Council. This award is given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to a discipline within the sciences that has benefited humanity. Hopfield is being recognized for his contributions to three major disciplines --- physics, chemistry and biology and for his ability to cross disciplines "to discover new questions and propose answers that uncover the conceptual structure behind the experimental facts." The award will be conferred at a ceremony hosted by the Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico on November 12th.(read more)
Matthew Hibbs receives an Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) Teaching Award
5/10/2005 - Matthew Hibbs, a Department of Computer Science Graduate
Student in Institute faculty member Olga Troyanskaya's lab, has been
awarded an Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) Teaching
Award for his work as an Assistant in Instruction for CHM/COS/MOL/PHY
231-234, the new freshman integrated science course organized by the
Institute. The APGA and the Friends of the International Center fund a
competition each year to recognize and honor those graduate students who
have made a significant contribution to undergraduate teaching. Mr Hibbs
was nominated by his department, supported by his students and, along
with four other AIs, chosen by the Teaching Award Selection Committee
for this distinction.
Joshua Rabinowitz receives a Beckman Young Investigators Grant
04/13/2005 - Joshua D. Rabinowitz, an assistant professor in chemistry and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been awarded an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigators grant. His research project, "Towards a Holistic Understanding of Cellular Metabolism," is one of twenty-four chosen from a national field of candidates for support over the next three years. The Beckman Young Investigators (BYI) Program is intended to provide research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of academic careers in the chemical and life sciences.
Olga Troyanskaya receives a Sloan Research Fellowship
Olga Troyanskaya, an assistant professor in computer science and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, is among 116 U.S. researchers chosen by the Alfred Sloan Foundation to receive a Sloan Research Fellowship. The Sloan Fellowship is an unrestricted grant awarded to outstanding scientists and scholars early in their careers. (read more)
James Broach Appointed to New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research
Molecular Biology Professor and Associate Chair James Broach joined the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR). The NJCCR's mission is to ensure that New Jersey residents receive the fullest benefit of our nation's fight against cancer through the promotion and funding of research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer. To date, the NJCCR has provided over $25 million in funding to more than 550 research projects focused on cancer.
John Hopfield Elected American Physical Society Vice President
John Hopfield, the Howard A. Prior Professor of Molecular Biology, was elected as the new American Physical Society vice president by APS members. Hopfield will serve as vice president during 2005, as president-elect in 2006, and in 2007 will assume the role of President.
The American Physical Society is active in public and governmental affairs, and in the international physics community. The Society also conducts programs in education, public outreach, and media relations. The APS has 43,000 members and in 2005 will take a lead role in US participation in the World Year of Physics.
A New Center for Quantitative Biology at Princeton.
NIH is funding a new multidisciplinary initiative, called the Center for Quantitative Biology, which will be headed by David Botstein, director, and Jim Broach, associate director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. The new research center will focus mainly on using advanced computational methods to study complex biological systems.
First release of a web-based generic Gene Ontology (GO) Term Finder
The Bioinformatics group at the
Lewis-Sigler Institute has just released a web-based generic ("multi-organism")
GO Term Finder. This generic GO Term Finder web tool finds significant GO terms shared
among a list of genes from your organism of choice, helping you discover
what these genes may have in common. For a list of additional Gene Ontology Tools, please visit the GO Tools page.
New online resource, the Princeton MicroArray
database
University researchers and their collaborators
can now register for use of the Princeton University MicroArray database (PUMAdb). This web resource
facilitates data management, result analysis, and collaborative
research projects.
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