Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Bacteria Fighter
Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Whose Breakthroughs are Leading to New Antibiotics, will receive the N.J. Chamber's Woman in Innovation Award
Dr. Bonnie Bassler, whose work at Princeton University is changing the face of medicine and laying the groundwork for new antibiotics, will receive the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's second annual Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Award, the N.J. Chamber announced today.
Bassler, who is Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology and Chair of Princeton University's Department of Molecular Biology, will receive the award on Sept. 22 at an evening reception and ceremony at the National Conference Center in East Windsor.
Discovering How Bacteria Talk
Bassler, who also is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and her associates discovered that bacteria "talk" with one another through a chemical process called "quorum sensing." Bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate their invasions of plants, animals and people.
Bassler's research into how quorum sensing works and how to interfere with it is laying the groundwork for new generations of antibiotics.
"The importance of Bonnie's work cannot be overestimated as medical professionals report more and more strains of bacteria becoming resistant to current antibiotics," said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. "Bonnie's work is crucial to the medical field and equally important in ensuring New Jersey remains a leader in medical research."
Dr. Bassler's Honors:
- Richard Lounsbery Award, the National Academy of Sciences and French Academy of Sciences "for extraordinary achievement in science and medicine"
- Laureate for North America, L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards
- Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science recognizing breakthrough research
- Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine
- Awardee, MacArthur Fellowship
- Member, National Academy of Sciences
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Fellow, Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge
Last year, the inaugural Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Award was presented to former Bell Labs theoretical physicist and former Rutgers professor Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, now president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).
To register for the 2016 Women in Innovation Reception and Awards Ceremony, click here.