The MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, which were announced in September 2008, are as unique as their recipients. These US$500,000 awards are designed to encourage intelligent risk taking to advance studies into uncharted territories. The MacArthur Foundation provides funds directly to awardees, over a 5-year period, independent of their institutional affiliations and with ‘no strings attached’. Awards are given to people who show passion and courage in their work, and who are likely to advance their field in ways that reflect new innovation and fresh insight. An anonymous group of leaders nominate individuals that they feel embody the originality and motivation worthy of the prize. Awards are meant to stimulate originality in numerous fields, from farming to musical composition, and include some that recognize the innovative ways used by some scientists to approach biological questions through the novel use of model organisms.
‘Model’ recipients include Susan Mango and Rachel Wilson.
Susan Mango is tackling the complex issue of how a variety of cell types are formed to create a heterogeneous and functional organ. She is a Professor at the University of Utah and is using C. elegans as a model organism to understand and identify the genetic components that regulate cell differentiation and the integration of cellular functions.
Susan Mango is tackling the complex issue of how a variety of cell types are formed to create a heterogeneous and functional organ. She is a Professor at the University of Utah and is using C. elegans as a model organism to understand and identify the genetic components that regulate cell differentiation and the integration of cellular functions.
Rachel Wilson uses Drosophila as a model system to understand the representation of chemical stimuli in the brain that allow for distinction between separate sensory inputs, such as smells. She is an Assistant Professor at Harvard University and hopes to extend these findings to even more complex issues, such as integration of information for higher processing in speech or color recognition.
Rachel Wilson uses Drosophila as a model system to understand the representation of chemical stimuli in the brain that allow for distinction between separate sensory inputs, such as smells. She is an Assistant Professor at Harvard University and hopes to extend these findings to even more complex issues, such as integration of information for higher processing in speech or color recognition.
