The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The UI Board of Trustees voted March 11 to present its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medallion, to  Carl R. Woese, the Stanley O. Ikenberry Endowed Chair and Center for Advanced Study Professor of Microbiology.

The award was created to recognize individuals whose contributions to the growth and development of the UI, through extraordinary service or benefaction, has been of unusual significance.

Woese, a faculty member since 1964, describes himself as a molecular biologist turned evolutionist. He received the 2003 Crafoord Prize in Biosciences from the Royal Swedish Academy of Science for the 1977 discovery of a third domain of life known as Archaea. The Crafoord Prize is presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in recognition of accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prize, which the academy also selects.

Woese won the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Award, known as the “genius award,” in 1984. He was the 12th recipient of the Leeuwenhoek Medal, microbiology’s highest honor given each decade, by the Dutch Royal Academy of Science in 1992 and the National Medal of Science in 2000. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and a foreign associate of the Royal Society (U.K.).

Professor of Microbiology Abigail Salyers has been given the American Society for Microbiology Graduate MicrobiologyTeaching Award.  The honor is given to an individual for distinguished teaching at the graduate level and outstanding mentoring of graduate and postgraduate students. 

Salyers is well known for her commitment to microbiology instruction at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.  Unsatisfied with the course material available to her students, Salyers co-authored multiple text books and developed the microbiology curriculum for first-year medical students. She has been with the University of Illinois for over 30 years, and was awarded the All-Campus Award for Excellence in Teaching by the University of Illinois College Of Medicine.

Salyers has received international recognition for her research on the spread of antibiotic resistance and is currently researching bacteria found in the human colon.  She has mentored over 30 Ph.D. students, over two dozen undergraduates, and continues to run a renowned microbiology laboratory in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. 

Salyers was nominated for the ASM award by one of her former Ph.D. students, Dr. Thomas Zahrt, who is now an Associate Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.   

Govindjee, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Plant Biology, recently received the LAS Alumni Achievement Award for his lifetime contributions to photosynthesis research.  The annual award is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Association to a select few alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their field or the community.

Professor Govindjee came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1956, after receiving his masters from Allahabad University in India.  He received his Ph.D. in biophysics in 1960, and joined the University of Illinois faculty as an assistant professor in 1961.  Since then, Professor Govindjee has been on the forefront of photosynthesis research and education. 

His current interests include the history and controversies of photosynthesis research and enhancing photosynthesis education through the use of websites.  As the Series Editor for Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration, Professor Govindjee’s knowledge of the photosynthetic process is unparalleled.

The LAS Alumni Achievement Award was given to Professor Govindjee on October 10^th, 2008.  This is not first or the last of his many honors, however.  Professor Govindjee was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rebeiz Foundation of Basic Research in 2007, and an International Symposium on Photosynthesis will be held in his honor later this month in Indore, India. 

For more Information on Govindjee, visit his personal website at:
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/govindjee/

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology has received a generous gift from George and Tamara Mitchell of Sidney, Illinois, to create two endowed chairs in the Department of Biochemistry.

The Gregorio Weber Endowed Chair in Biochemistry is named in honor of the late University of Illinois professor and researcher whose specialties included fluorescence, spectroscopy, and protein chemistry. Born in Argentina, Weber studied at the University of Buenos Aires and St. John’s College at Cambridge. He worked at Cambridge and Sheffield University before joining the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Illinois in 1962, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1986.

The J. Woodland Hastings Endowed Chair in Biochemistry honors the former University of Illinois educator who researched bioluminescence and circadian rhythms. J. Woodland “Woody” Hastings studied at Swarthmore College and Princeton. He served as director of the summer physiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachussetts. His illustrious teaching career included posts at the Collège Cevenol in southern France, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Harvard.

The Cell and Molecular Biology & Molecular Biophysics (CMB-MB) Training Grant Program is celebrating its 21st annual research symposium this fall. Through the program, professors from eleven departments promote interdisciplinary research for graduate students interested in molecular and cell biology.

Six students will be chosen to speak about their research at the symposium, and Dr. Dianne Newman from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be the keynote speaker. A poster competition will also be held to highlighting the research of CMB-MB graduate students. 

The symposium will take place on Friday, November 14, 2008 from 9:30 am - 6:00 pm at the Beckman Institute. Registration for the event is open to all faculty, staff, and students who are engaged in molecular biology or molecular biophysics research. There will be a lunch, reception, and prizes awarded for outstanding talk and outstanding poster.

Registration, official abstract forms, and the schedule for the symposium may be found at: http://www.life.uiuc.edu/cmbtg/Symposium/index.html

Registration for attendance must be completed by Friday, Novermber 7th.