Systems biologist finds novel solutions to fundamental biologica...( 30 January 2008 Heidelberg Germany a...)

30 January 2008, Heidelberg, Germany and Rehovot, Israel The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) announced Naama Barkai of the Weizman Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel as the first-ever winner of the FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award. Naama Barkai receives the 2008 award for her outstanding contributions to the field of systems biology and the mathematical modelling of biological systems.

Each year, the FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award recognizes and rewards the exceptional achievements of a female scientist in life sciences research over the previous five years. Winners of the award are role models who inspire future generations of women in science.

Naama Barkais deep understanding of the relevant biology and physics allows her to combine experiments and theory to develop novel solutions to fundamental biological problems such as chemotaxis, embryonic development and the organisation of the cellular transcription programmes.

Professor Uri Alon, a colleague of Barkai for the past eight years at the Weizmann Institute of Science commented: Naamas work is consistently inspiring. She has, in my opinion, identified some of the most fundamental problems in systems biology and proposed elegant and powerful answers."

The selection committee credits Barkais originality and creative research as not only revolutionising the field of systems biology but also significantly changing the way scientists think about complex biological processes.

An associate professor at the departments of Molecular Genetics and Physics of Complex Systems at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, Naama Barkai utilizes mathematical modelling to unravel the principles that govern the design and function of biological networks. She was visiting professor at Harvard University (2005-2006) and a Robert H. Dicke Fellow at Princeton University where she worked wit
'/>"/>