Physics Professor Margaret Gardel Wins the Sacker International Prize in Biophysics

Margaret Gardel, the Horace B. Horton Professor in the department of physics at the University of Chicago, was awarded the prestigious Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics. The prize recognizes distinguished scientists under age 45 who have made outstanding and fundamental contributions in their fields. The prize is administered by Tel Aviv University in Israel. It was established to encourage dedication to science, originality, and excellence.

“It’s great to be honored by colleagues,” said Professor Gardel. “For me, it reflects the approaches that we’ve been building in my lab over the past 13 years to establish new biophysical tools to understand cell mechanics. I thank the University of Chicago for providing a supportive environment for our lab to be able to do this research.”

Dr. Gardel’s work investigates how cells sense mechanical forces and respond to those forces with chemical activity. She joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2007 as an assistant professor.

Dr. Gardel is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in physics and mathematics. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.