The Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis announced the winners of its annual awards.
Ethan Lowder, a December 2021 graduate who majored in the biochemistry track of biology, won the 2022 Ralph S. Quatrano Prize.
This prize is awarded to the thesis showing greatest evidence of creativity in design, research methodology or broader scientific implications. The award is given in honor of Ralph Quatrano, the Spencer T. Olin Professor Emeritus and former chair of biology. Lowder was nominated by his major adviser and research mentor Robert Kranz for his thesis, titled “Cryo-EM structures of CcsBA elucidate cytochrome c biogenesis and heme transport.”
Kayla Wallace, a senior majoring in environmental biology with a minor in anthropology, won the 2022 Spector Prize. That prize is awarded to a graduating senior in memory of Marion Smith Spector, a 1938 graduate who studied zoology under the late Viktor Hamburger.
The Spector Prize, first awarded in 1974, recognizes academic excellence and outstanding undergraduate achievement in research. Students are nominated by their research mentors for outstanding research that has made substantial contributions to a field. Wallace was nominated by her faculty mentor Joan Strassmann; her thesis was titled “Effects of freshwater acidification and parasitism upon rusty crayfish consumption behaviors.”
Read about these named awards and other undergraduate and graduate student recognition on the biology webpage.
