Lila M. Gierasch, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at University of Massachusetts in Amherst, has been selected to receive the 2014 Mildred Cohn Award in Biological Chemistry from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The award, named after the first woman president of the society, honors scientists who have “made substantial advances in understanding biological chemistry using innovative physical approaches.” She will receive the award at the society’s annual convention next spring in San Diego.
Dr. Gierasch’s research focuses on protein folding in cells and how misfolding of proteins leads to neurodegenerative diseases. Before joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts, Professor Gierasch taught at Amherst College, the University of Delaware, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and holds a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard University.