Xiaowei Zhuang, David B. Arnold Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize — an international award celebrating women in biomedical science. Dr. Zhuang is also a professor of chemistry, professor of chemical biology, and professor of physics at Harvard.
The award is presented by Rockefeller University, a graduate biomedical research institute in New York City. Paul Greengard, the late professor at Rockefeller University and his wife, Ursula von Rydingsvard, created the award in 2004. Greengard advocated for gender equality in science and donated the prize to establish an annual award celebrating women in science. The prize is named after his mother.
Dr. Zhuang is being honored for her work on the development of super-resolution and genome-scale imaging techniques. Through her work, she found new structures in cells, clarified molecular processes, and discovered new types of neurons. She will be honored on November 19 during a ceremony at the Caspary Auditorium in New York City. The award includes a $100,000 prize.
Professor Zhuang joined the faculty at Harvard University in 2001. She was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and a year later to full professor. Dr. Zhuang is a graduate of the University of Science and Technology of China, where she majored in physics. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.