Dr. Rita Colwell Wins Top International Biology Prize
Rita Colwell, distinguished professor in the University of Maryland’s cell biology and molecular genetics department, has been awarded the International Prize for Biology 2017 for her outstanding contributions to marine microbiology, bioinformatics, microbiomes and the understanding and prevention of cholera.
Colwell is the thirty-third recipient of the International Prize for Biology, generally recognized as one of the most prestigious honors a natural scientist can receive. Past laureates include such other renowned biologists as John B. Gurdon, Motoo Kimura, Edward O. Wilson, Ernst Mayr, and Thomas Cavalier-Smith.
There is no Nobel Prize for biology, but Japan’s International Prize for Biology is one of three prizes often considered to be biology’s equivalent. The other two honors often placed in this category are the Balzan Prize and Crafoord Prize.
The prize also recognizes Colwell’s life-saving contributions to the understanding and prevention of cholera, an acute diarrheal disease, which, until Colwell began her work on this project in 1960, was widely believed that cholera was only transmitted from person to person. However, Colwell and her team’s research over the
years have shown that it is caused by environmental factors and is associated with natural bacteria on the zooplankton.“It is an extraordinary honor to be named recipient of the International Prize for Biology, a very special honor for a biologist,” said Colwell. “I am deeply grateful to the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for this award. I have many friends and colleagues in Japan and look forward to continuing my many collaborations with them.”
Colwell has received a great many awards and recognitions, including the 2017 Vannevar Bush Award given by the U.S. National Science Board; the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize awarded by the King of Sweden; the 2006 National Medal of Science awarded by the president of the United States; and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star bestowed by the Emperor of Japan. She is the recipient of 61 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education and has a geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, named in recognition of her work in the polar regions.
Colwell was the 11th director of the National Science Foundation and the first woman to head the agency. She also co-chaired the Committee on Science, National Science and Technology Council. She has held numerous advisory positions in the U.S. government, nonprofit science policy organizations, and private foundations and has authored or co-authored 19 books and more than 800 scientific publications.
