Jennifer Doudna to receive the 2018 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
The Rockefeller University has announced that Jennifer Doudna will receive this year’s Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, a major international accolade honoring outstanding women scientists. Doudna is a professor of chemistry and molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also holds the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences. She will be given the prize during a ceremony on the Rockefeller campus on Tuesday, October 2. Agnes Gund, president emerita of the Museum of Modern Art, a philanthropist, arts education and social justice advocate, and longtime supporter of women in the arts and sciences, will present Doudna with the award.
A pioneer in the study of RNA, Doudna has devoted decades to illuminating many new facets of one of life’s essential molecules. Her research on the remarkably versatile structures and functions of this molecule has deepened scientists’ understanding of how certain RNAs act as ribozymes—enzyme-like molecules that catalyze chemical reactions—while others play a key role in the replication of hepatitis C and other viruses. In recent years, she has also become well known for her work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR.
“Dr. Doudna’s career is filled with discoveries that have revealed unexpected and surprising features of RNA, and ushered in a revolutionary new era of possibilities in genomics,” said Paul Greengard, Vincent Astor Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller.
