A video celebrating Professor Jorge Torres’ 2019 ASCB Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity was premiered at the opening ceremonies of the ASCB|EMBO meeting.
Torres’ award was announced and the video was shown in front of thousands on December 7, 2019, right before the keynote address at the international ASCB/EMBO (American Society for Cell Biology/European Molecular Biology Organization) meeting in Washington, D.C.
As part of the ASCB prize, Torres also contributed to an essay titled “Fostering Inclusion and Diversity through Research, Teaching, Mentoring, and Outreach” which was recently published (and is trending) in the Society’s science journal,
Molecular Biology of the Cell
.
In the short video Torres, a professor of biochemistry, speaks about his childhood working in the fields of Texas with his Mexican immigrant parents, how his passion for science was sparked, the mentors and diversity in science programs that helped him when he was a student, and he explains how his prize money will be used to help under-represented students and local K-12 schools. ASCB’s Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity is an annual award recognizing one scientist with a strong track record in research who serves a critical role in fostering cell biology research and has demonstrated the importance of inclusion and diversity in science through mentoring, cultural change, outreach, or community service.
Read more about Torres’s 2019 ASCB Prize here.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
