BONNIE BASSLER receives Shaw Prize in life science and medicine

PHOTO BY ALENA SOBOLEVA

PHOTO BY ALENA SOBOLEVA

Bonnie Bassler, the Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology, was named a 2015 Shaw Laureate in life science and medicine on June 1, 2015. Awarded by the Hong Kong-based Shaw Foundation, the Shaw Prize honors recent breakthroughs by active researchers in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and life and medical sciences.

Bassler was recognized for her well-known work in quorum sensing, a widespread process that bacteria use for cell-to-cell communication. Understanding quorum sensing “offers innovative ways to interfere with bacterial pathogens or to modulate the microbiome for health applications,” according to the prize citation. Bassler, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, shares the $1 million prize with E. Peter Greenberg, a University of Washington professor of microbiology. The 2015 prizes were awarded during a Sept. 24 ceremony in Hong Kong.

–By Morgan Kelly

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