Numerous Biosciences Area personnel are among the 2020 Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards honorees. This annual program recognizes outstanding contributions by employees to all facets of Lab activities. A complete list of winners can be found here. The ninth annual Director’s Awards ceremony will take place (virtually) on November 12 at 3 PM.
Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, head of the Metagenome Program at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), will receive the Early Scientific Career award for her exceptional accomplishments in microbiome data science and for establishing the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) as a resource in support of DOE’s science mission.
Chris Mungall, head of the Biosystems Data Science Department in Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB), will receive the Early Scientific Career award for his leadership of the design and development of collaborative, open-source, cross-cutting software and ontologies for tackling key scientific challenges, such as novel knowledge integration approaches to address COVID-19.
JGI’s Lisa Kegg, Donald Miller, and Christine Naca, will receive the Operations award for their outstanding success in the planning and execution of the move of the JGI User Facility and KBase teams to the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB), as well as the restoration of JGI’s former Walnut Creek facility.
JGI’s Massie Ballon, Alison Takemura, and Daniel Udwary will receive the Outreach award for conceiving, branding, and launching two podcast series—the Genome Insider and the Natural Prodcast—to improve new user and public engagement, and sustaining these series in the midst of a global pandemic.
Jan-Fang Cheng, staff scientist at JGI, will receive the Service award for technological contributions essential to DOE’s success in the Human Genome Project; for developing a world-class single cell capability; and for establishing routine DNA synthesis at JGI. His contributions over the last 30 years have enabled endless scientific discovery through centralized genomic resource accessibility.
Bob Glaeser, senior scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), will receive the Tech Transfer award for his contributions to electron microscopy and cryogenic electron microscopy, which are distinguished by his foundational work in the field and his prolific portfolio of inventions. His work during an impressive 55-year career has accelerated this important area of science and its application in the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, Biosciences Lead Safety Coordinator Shraddha Ravani will receive the Safety award as part of an Advanced Light Source (ALS) team cited for their expertise, humor, and exceptional service to the ALS user community, enabling 2,000 scientists a year to safely perform outstanding research.
