Gregorio Weber International Prize in Biological Fluorescence

The Gregorio Weber International Prize in Biological Fluorescence (Weber Prize) is awarded for research related to a doctoral (or equivalent) dissertation. All fields of biological fluorescence (experimental, theoretical, or applied) are eligible. The award is conferred approximately every three years and is presented at a selected international scientific meeting. The award is international in scope. Submitted dissertations are evaluated by a scientific panel and three finalists will be identified. A second panel selects the winner from the three finalists. Contests were held in 2002 , 2005, and 2008.

2008 Weber Prize

Forty-three applications have been received by December 14, 2007.

The winner and two finalists of the Weber Prize 2008 were announced at the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup meeting on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008.

The winner will receive a cash award of $2,500 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the 7th International Weber Symposium on Innovative Fluorescence Methodologies in Biochemistry & Medicine, where the award will be presented. The remaining two finalists will receive honorable mention awards of $1,000 each, and will also be invited to the Weber Symposium.

Winner

• Dr. Long Cai
  Currently at the Californian Institute of Technology, Department of Biology
  Thesis Title: Life at low copy number: a single molecule adventure in live cell gene expression.

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Chirlmin Joo
  Currently at the Seoul National University, School of Biological Sciences, Korea.
  Thesis Title: Single-molecule FRET study on the RecA-mediated DNA repair.
• Dr. Felipe Mora-Bermúdez
  Currently at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
  Thesis Title: Quantitative analysis of the structural dynamics of mitotic chromosomes in live mammalian cells.

Selection Committees 2008

Selected three finalists:

• William W. Mantulin, University of California, Irvine, USA, Panel Moderator
• Patrick R. Callis, Montana State University, USA
• Amitabha Chattopadhyay, Centre Cellular Molecular Biology, India
• Yan Chen, University of Minnesota, USA
• Parkson Lee-Gau Chong, Temple University, USA
• Ignacy Gryczynski, University of North Texas Health Science Center, USA
• Don C. Lamb, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Germany
• Valeria Levi, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Qiaoqiao Ruan, Abbott Laboratories, USA
• Paul W. Wiseman, McGill University, Canada
• Warren R. Zipfel, Cornell University, USA

Selected the winner:

• Robert M. Clegg, University of Illinois, USA, Panel Moderator
• Maite Coppey-Moisan, Institut Jacques Monod, France
• Kenneth A. Jacobson, University of North Carolina, USA

Award Requirements

• The dissertation must have been accepted and the doctorate conferred during the three years prior to December 14, 2007.
• English is the preferred language. Dissertations not in English must include a 10-15-page summary in English.
• A maximum of two first (or last) author published manuscripts, arising from the dissertation research, must also be provided. Manuscripts not in English must have an English translation appended.
• Materials should be submitted in digital format (preferably in PDF) via the Weber Prize registration web page.
• Deadline for submission is December 15, 2007.

Weber Prize Administrator

For questions and comments about the Weber Prize 2008 please contact:

2005 Weber Prize

Winner

• Dr. Ahmet Yildiz
  Currently at University of California, San Francisco in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology
  Thesis Title: Fluorescence imaging with one nanometer accuracy: Determination of how processive motors walk

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Harold Kim
  Currently at Stanford University; Stanford, CA
  Thesis Title: Single molecule studies of dynamic biological processes
• Dr. Saveez Saffarian
  Currently at Harvard Medical School/CBR; Boston, MA
  Thesis Title: Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy: Statistical analysis and biological applications

Selection Committees

Selected three finalists:

• Enrico Gratton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, Panel Moderator
• Luis Bagatolli, University of So. Denmark
• Yves Engelborghs, University Leuven, Belgium
• Sergio Ferreira, Fed. University Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Jay Knutson, National Institute of Health, USA
• Kazuhiro Oiwa, KARC, Japan
• Suzanne Scarlata, SUNY at Stony Brook, USA
• Sergey Tetin, Abbot Laboratories, USA

Selected the winner:

• David Jameson, University of Hawaii, USA, Panel Moderator
• William Sawyer, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Antonie Visser, University of Wageningen, The Netherland

2002 Weber Prize

Winner

• Dr. Mark Wallace
  Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
  Thesis Title: A Study of DNA Conformation Dynamics using Single-molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Yan Chen
  University of Minnesota, Physics Department, Minneapolis, MN
  Thesis Title: Analysis and Applications of Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy
• Dr. Yana Reshetnyak
  Institute for Cancer Research, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology, Fort Worth, TX
  Thesis Title: Relation Between Fluorescence Parameters of Tryptophan Residues and Structural and Physical Parameters of Microenvironments of Indole Rings in Proteins

Selection Committees

Selected three finalists:

• David Jameson, University of Hawaii, USA, Panel Moderator
• Beniamino Barbieri, ISS Inc., USA
• Robert M Clegg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
• Joseph R Lakowicz, Univeristy of maryland, Baltimore, USA
• Edmund D Matayoshi, Abbott Laboratories, USA
• Catherine A Royer, INSERM, France
• William Sawyer, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Jerson L Silva, Federal University Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Antonie JWG Visser, University of Wageningen, The Netherland

Selected the winner:

• Enrico Gratton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, Panel Moderator
• Thomas M Jovin, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
• Kazuhiko Kinosita, Keio University, Japan