Hoboken, NJ - The Wiley Foundation, part of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. — a global provider of knowledge and knowledge-enabled services that improve outcomes in areas of research, professional practice, and education — announces the 14th annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be awarded to Evelyn M. Witkin and Stephen Elledge for their studies of the DNA damage response. These scientists discovered that all living cells can detect damage in their genetic material and respond in a way that ensures their survival.
Evelyn Witkin, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita, The Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Witkin has also received the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal of the Genetics Society of America and the National Medal of Science. Stephen Elledge, Ph.D., is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
Dr. Elledge has received the Canada Gairdner International Award, the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, and the Dickson Prize in Medicine. “When evaluating all of the significant biomedical achievements from past years, one achievement that clearly stood out was the groundbreaking work done by Evelyn Witkin in detailing the SOS response to UV radiation in bacteria in the early 1970s,” said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize. “Stephen Elledge discovered a parallel system operating in eukaryotes that senses DNA damage and DNA replication blocks and relays this information throughout the cell, profoundly altering cellular physiology to promote DNA repair, genome stability, and organismal survival.
First awarded in 2002, The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is presented annually to recognize contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced concepts in a particular biomedical discipline. Among the many distinguished recipients of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, five have gone on to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
“The work of the 2015 Wiley Prize recipients truly upholds the mission of the Wiley Prize and the Wiley Foundation,” said Deborah E. Wiley, Chair of the Wiley Foundation. “It is our hope that highlighting this research will inspire additional scientific investigations into complex stress response pathways. This year’s award of $35,000 will be presented to the winners on April 17, 2015 at the Wiley Prize luncheon at The Rockefeller University. There, Drs. Witkin and Elledge will deliver an honorary lecture as part of The Rockefeller University Lecture Series.
This event will be live streamed via the Current Protocols’ Webinar Series and registration is free.
Dr. Elledge has received the Canada Gairdner International Award, the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, and the Dickson Prize in Medicine. “When evaluating all of the significant biomedical achievements from past years, one achievement that clearly stood out was the groundbreaking work done by Evelyn Witkin in detailing the SOS response to UV radiation in bacteria in the early 1970s,” said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize. “Stephen Elledge discovered a parallel system operating in eukaryotes that senses DNA damage and DNA replication blocks and relays this information throughout the cell, profoundly altering cellular physiology to promote DNA repair, genome stability, and organismal survival.
First awarded in 2002, The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is presented annually to recognize contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced concepts in a particular biomedical discipline. Among the many distinguished recipients of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, five have gone on to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
“The work of the 2015 Wiley Prize recipients truly upholds the mission of the Wiley Prize and the Wiley Foundation,” said Deborah E. Wiley, Chair of the Wiley Foundation. “It is our hope that highlighting this research will inspire additional scientific investigations into complex stress response pathways. This year’s award of $35,000 will be presented to the winners on April 17, 2015 at the Wiley Prize luncheon at The Rockefeller University. There, Drs. Witkin and Elledge will deliver an honorary lecture as part of The Rockefeller University Lecture Series.
This event will be live streamed via the Current Protocols’ Webinar Series and registration is free.
