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 a few finalists will be identified. A second panel selects the winner from the finalists. The winner receives a cash award of $1,000 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the Weber Symposium. . The remaining finalists receive honorable mention awards. Weber Prizes were conferred in 2017, 2014, 2011, 2008, 2005, and 2002.

The next Weber Prize will be awarded in 2023.

2023 Weber Prize

Fourteen applications were received.

The winners of the Weber Prize 2023 were announced on November 30, 2022.

The winner will received a cash award of $1,000 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the Weber Symposium.

Award Requirements

• The dissertation must have been accepted and the doctorate conferred between January 1, 2017, and April 1, 2022.
• English is the preferred language. Dissertations not in English must include at least 5 pages summary in English.
• A maximum of two first (or last) author published manuscripts, arising from the dissertation research, must also be provided.
• Materials should be submitted in digital format (preferably in PDF) at egratton22@gmail.com and Cc: to webersymposium@gmail.com.
• Deadline for submission: September 1, 2022.

Winner 2023

• Dr. Lorenzo Scipioni
  Universita Degli Studi Di Genoa. Instituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Italy. Physics.
  Thesis Title: Local image correlation methods for the characterization of subcellular structure and dynamics by confocal and super-resolution microscopy.

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Arindam Ghosh
  Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen, Germany. Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
  Thesis title: Single Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Imaging: Advanced Methods and Applications in Life Sciences.
• Dr. Johannes Stein
  Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany. Physics.
  Thesis title: Localization-Based Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy.
• Dr. Luciano A. Masullo
  Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Physics.
  Thesis title: Photon-efficient fluorescence nanoscopy by scanning light intensity minima.

Selection Committees 2023

Coordinators:

• Enrico Gratton, University of California, Irvine, USA
• David M. Jameson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA

Review Panel:

• Francesco Cardarelli - Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
• Debora Foguel - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Melike Lakadamyali – University of Pennsylvania
• Valeria Levi – Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Leonel Malacrida – Univ. de la Republica and Institut Pasteur of Montevideo, Uruguay
• Susana Sanchez - Universidad de Concepción, Chile
• Thorsten Wohland - National University of Singapore, Singapore
• Sergey Tetin – Abbott Laboratories, Illinois, USA
• Elizabeth Hinde – University of Melbourne, Australia
• Gregory Reinhart – Emeritus Texas AandM - USA

Weber Prize Administrator

For questions and comments about the Weber Prize 2023 please contact:

Enrico Gratton
egratton22@gmail or webersymposium@gmail.com

Weber Prize 2023
c/o Enrico Gratton
University of California, Irvine
Biomedical Engineering Department
3208 Natural Sciences II
Irvine, CA 92697-2715
USA

2017 Weber Prize

Eight applications were received by March 4, 2017.

The winners of the Weber Prize 2017 were announced on May 30, 2017, at the 10th International Weber Symposium on Innovative Fluorescence Methodologies in Biochemistry & Medicine.

The winner received a cash award of $2,500 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the Weber Symposium.

Award Requirements

• The dissertation must have been accepted and the doctorate conferred between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016.
• 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: March 4, 2017.

Winner 2017

• Dr. Rupsa Datta
  University of California, Irvine. Biomedical Engineering.
  Thesis Title: Label-free fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to study metabolism and oxidative stress in biological systems.

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Zeno Lavagnino
  University of Genoa. Physics.
  Thesis title: Improving selective plane illumination microscopy towards enhanced spatial resolution and imaging depth performances.
• Dr. Yang Liu
  Emory University. Chemistry.
  Thesis title: Development of nanoparticle-based tools to investigate cell mechanotransduction at the living/nonliving interface.
• Dr. Leonel Malacrida
  Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay. Biology.
  Thesis title: Pulmonary surfactant during acute lung injury: from physiopathology to the biophysical aspects of its dysfunction.
• Dr. Maria Aurelia Ricci
  Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. Biomedicine.
  Thesis title: Chromatin fibers are formed by heterogeneous groups of nucleosomes in vivo.

Selection Committees 2017

Coordinators:

• David M. Jameson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
• Enrico Gratton, University of California, Irvine, USA

Select three finalists:

• Luis Bagatolli, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
• Don C. Lamb, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Germany
• Francesco Cardarelli, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy
• Francisco Barrantes, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
• Gregory Reinhart, Texas A & M University, USA
• Joachim Müller, University of Minnesota, USA
• Ulrich Nienhaus, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
• Laura Estrada, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Michelle Digman, University of California, Irvine, USA
• Manuel Prieto, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal
• Marcia Levitus, Arizona State University, USA
• Sergey Tetin, Abbott Laboratories, USA

Weber Prize Administrator

For questions and comments about the Weber Prize 2017 please contact:

Enrico Gratton
Email: lfd@uci.edu

Weber Prize 2017
c/o Enrico Gratton
University of California, Irvine
Biomedical Engineering Department
3208 Natural Sciences II
Irvine, CA 92697-2715
USA

2014 Weber Prize

Nineteen applications were received by March 1, 2014.

The winners of the Weber Prize 2014 were announced on June 17, 2014, at the 9th International Weber Symposium on Innovative Fluorescence Methodologies in Biochemistry & Medicine.

The winners received a cash award of $2,500 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the Weber Symposium.

The funding for the 2014 prize came from the honorarium to Sergey Tetin for editing Methods in Enzymology volumes 519-520, and the contributions of the Gratton Family through the Maria Pia Gratton foundation.

Winners 2014

• Dr. Ankur Jain
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Biophysics and Computational Biology.
  Thesis title: Probing cellular protein complexes using single-molecule pull-down.
• Dr. Chi-Li Chiu
  University of California, Irvine. Developmental and Cell Biology.
  Thesis title: 3D Cell-ECM Dynamics Revealed by Innovative Fluorescence Microscopy Methods.
• Dr. Per Niklas Hedde
  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Institute of Applied Physics (APH).
  Thesis title: Light Microscopy Beyond the Diffraction Barrier for Live Cell Studies.

Selection Committees 2014

Coordinators:

• David M. Jameson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
• Enrico Gratton, University of California, Irvine, USA

Select three finalists:

• Manuel Prieto, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal
• María García-Parajo, Institute of Photonic Sciences, Spain
• Gregory Reinhart, Texas A & M University, USA
• Kazuhiro Oiwa, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan
• Amitabha Chattopadhyay, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, India
• Michelle Digman, University of California, Irvine, USA
• Pierre Moens, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
• Luis Bagatolli, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
• Susana Sánchez, University of Concepción, Chile
• Francesco Cardarelli, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy
• Claus Seidel, University of Düsseldorf, Germany
• Debora Foguel, University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Richard Day, Indiana University, USA
• Taekjip Ha, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
• Qiaoqiao Ruan, Abbott Laboratories, USA

Select the winner:

• Maïté Coppey-Moisan, French National Centre for Scientific Research, France
• Paul French, Imperial College, UK
• Joachim Müller, University of Minnesota, USA

2011 Weber Prize

Thirty-eight applications were received by December 10, 2010.

The winner and two finalists of the Weber Prize 2011 were announced at the Biological Fluorescence Subgroup meeting on Saturday, March 5th, 2011.

The winner received a cash award of $2,500 and an invitation to present an acceptance lecture at the 8th International Weber Symposium on Innovative Fluorescence Methodologies in Biochemistry & Medicine, where the award was presented. The remaining two finalists received honorable mention awards of $1,000 each, and were also invited to the Weber Symposium.

Winner 2011

• Dr. Bin Wu
  University of Minnesota; Physics.
  Thesis title: Fluorescence Cumulant Analysis in Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy.

Honorable mention:

• Dr. Buz Barstow
  Cornell University; Physics.
  Thesis title: Direct Correlation of Protein Structure and Function Using High-pressure X-ray Crystallography.
• Dr. Jonas Ries
  Technische Universitat Dresden; Biophysics.
  Thesis title: Advanced Fluorescence Correlation Techniques to Study Membrane Dynamics.

Selection Committees 2011

Select three finalists:

• William W. Mantulin, University of California, Irvine, USA, Panel Moderator
• Keith Berland, Emory University, USA
• Philippe Bastiaens, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Germany
• Andrea de Oliveira, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Alberto Diaspro, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy
• John Eid, Pacific Biosciences, USA
• Zygmut Gryczynski, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, USA
• Karsten König, University of Saarland, Germany
• Moshe Levi, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver, USA
• Marcia Levitus, Arizona State University, USA
• Pierre Moens, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
• Joachim Müller, University of Minnesota, USA
• Manuel Prieto, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
• Gregory Reinhart, Texas A & M University, USA
• Saveez Saffarian, University of Utah, USA
• Peter So, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• Sergey Tetin, Abbott Laboratories, USA
• Jane Vanderkooi, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Martin vandeVen, University of Hasselt, Belgium
• Xunbin Wei, Fudan University, China

Select the winner:

• Carlos Bustamante, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Panel Moderator
• Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, National Institutes of Health, USA
• Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Harvard University, USA

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 received 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 was presented. The remaining two finalists received honorable mention awards of $1,000 each, and were also invited to the Weber Symposium.

Winner 2008

• 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

2005 Weber Prize

Winner 2005

• 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 2005

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 2002

• 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 2002

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