Emily Balskus, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, received the Alan T. Waterman Award, the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious prize for scientists under 40 in the United States. Dr. Balskus is only the sixth Harvard scientist (and the only Harvard woman) to receive a Waterman Award, which the National Science Foundation has given out annually since 1975. She will receive a medal and $1 million in research funding over a five-year period.
“I hope that through receiving this award I can help to bring attention to microbes, the important roles they play in all aspects of our lives, and how chemistry can help us to understand the microbial world,” said Dr. Balskus.
Dr. Balskus graduated as valedictorian of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge in England and a Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical biology from Harvard University.