2013 Postdoc Awards

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The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Molecular Biology Institute held the 2013 MBI Postdoctoral Awards Ceremony and Reception on May 8, 2013.  The event was hosted by Prof. Miguel Garcia-Garibay.

This year’s awardees were: Dr. James Frederich (Mentor: Prof. Patrick Harran), Dr. Jiansen Jiang (Mentor: Prof. Juli Feigon), Dr. Edward Miracco (Mentor: Prof. Juli Feigon), Dr. Michael Oberholzer (Mentor: Prof. Kent Hill), Dr. Michael Rera (Mentor: Prof. David Walker), Dr. Jiwon Shim (Mentor: Prof. Utpal Banerjee), Dr. Elizabeth Wilson (Mentor: Prof. David Brooks), and Dr. Jin Zhang (Mentor: Prof. Anastassia Alexandrova).  The eight postdoctoral awardees received the Research Excellence Awards, including a $2,000 prize presented to them by their mentors.  

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Front row, left to right: James Frederich, Michael Oberholzer, Edward Miracco,
Jiansen Jiang, Elizabeth Wilson, Jin Zhang, Jiwon Shim, Michael Rera
Back row, left to right: Patrick Harran, Kent Hill, Juli Feigon, Hong Zhou, Phyllis Parvin,
Paul Boyer, Scott Kitchen, David Walker, Utpal Banerjee, Jen Allen

 

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Prof. Miguel Garcia-Garibay hosting the Awards Ceremony

In addition to the Research Excellence Awards, four of the eight winners received special recognition awards from our generous donors.

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Professor Emeritus Paul Boyer (Left) presented Dr. Elizabeth Wilson (Right)
with the Boyer-Peter Award.  

 

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Mrs. Phyllis Parvin (Center) presented Dr. Edward Miracco (Left) and Dr. Jiansen Jiang (Right)
with the Parvin Foundation Award.

 

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Dr. Jen Allen (left), representing Amgen Inc., presented Dr. James Frederich (Center)
with the Amgen Award.  They were joined by Prof. Patrick Harran (Right)

The MBI postdoctoral recognition awards were started by in 1999 by Nobel Laureate, Chemistry & Biochemistry Professor Emeritus, and founding MBI Director, Paul D. Boyer, who donated a portion of his Nobel prize to recognize outstanding research contributions from Postdoctoral Fellows.  Generous donations were also received from Mrs. Phyllis Parvin and the Parvin Foundation, Dr. James and Mrs. Joan Peter, and an educational donation from Amgen Inc.  Nominations of outstanding candidates were solicited to honor academic excellence in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCLA. 

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Prof. Miguel Garcia-Garibay (Center Left) with awardee Jin Zhang (Center Right)
and fellow students/postdocs at the reception.

 

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Prof. Paul Boyer (Center) and Prof. Juli Feigon (Far Right) with awardee Dr. Edward Miracco (Center Left)
and Dr. Jiansen Jiang (Far Left) 
at the reception.
 

We would like to thank members of the Selection Committee (Prof. Douglas Black, Prof. Ohyun Kwon, Prof. James Wohlschlegel, and Prof. Hong Wu), Prof. Miguel Garcia-Garibay (Chair of UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry), Prof. Luisa Iruela-Arispe (MBI Interim Director), and staff members Penny Jennings (photos), Bo Tendis, Mandy Bell, and Susie Sassoon for handling all of the event details.

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Prof. Paul & Mrs. Lyda Boyer (Left) / Mrs. Phyllis Parvin and Dr. Jen Allen of Amgen (Right)

A special thanks goes to our generous benefactors: The late James and Joan Peter, Mrs. Phyllis Parvin and the Parvin Foundation, Dr. Jen Allen (Amgen, Director of Medicinal Chemistry) and Amgen Inc., and Prof. Paul and Mrs. Lyda Boyer. 

To see more photos from the event, please visit here.