Overview
The George W. Beadle Award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the community of genetics researchers. Recipients of the Beadle Award must have contributed to the genetics community beyond an exemplary research career, for example by creating and disseminating an invaluable technique or tool, helping the community adopt a model system, working to provide a voice for the community in public or political forums, and/or maintaining active leadership roles.
GSA established the award in 1999 in honor of an outstanding scientist and a respected academic, administrator, and public servant—George W. Beadle (1903-1989). Beadle was the 1946 GSA president and received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work with Edward L. Tatum. The Beadle and Tatum experiments and their “one gene, one enzyme” theory established the linkage between biochemistry and genetics, setting the groundwork for the development of molecular biology.
Beadle was not only an outstanding scientist, but also a respected academic, administrator, and public servant. In addition to academic leadership positions, Beadle served numerous national and international leadership roles, including as chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and chair of the Scientific Council of the American Cancer Society. He also spoke before school groups and the public, promoting science education and genetics education in particular.
Nomination Process
When the nomination period is open, you will find a link to the nomination form on this page. Using the form:
- Describe the candidate’s contributions to the genetics community that extend beyond an exemplary research career. In your description, please emphasize how influential, useful, and/or far-reaching the candidate’s contributions to the community have been (word limit: 500).
- List the name of the candidate, their current institution, their email address, and phone number.
- Upload the candidate’s CV.
- Provide a secondary nominator’s name and email address. The secondary nominator will receive an email allowing them to log in and upload their letter of support.
- Once the secondary nominator has successfully uploaded their letter of support, you will receive an email to remind you to submit the completed nomination.
Once GSA receives all the necessary materials, the Board of Directors will review the nominations and select a recipient.
All nominations will remain active for three years. That means the nominee will be considered for the award in the year you nominate them and also in the following two years.
Eligibility
To be considered for the George W. Beadle Award, the nominee does not need to be a GSA member. However, nominees who are members of GSA will be given priority in the selection process. Nominees must have made outstanding contributions to the genetics community beyond an exemplary research career.
Selection Criteria
Reviewers consider the following criteria when selecting a recipient:
- Has the nominee made outstanding contributions to the genetics community beyond an exemplary research career?
Important Dates
Nominations are due October 18, 2021. Letters of recommendation are due October 20, 2021.
Past Recipients
| 2022 | Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton University |
| 2021 | Chao-ting Wu, Harvard Medical School |
| 2020 | Julie Ahringer, University of Cambridge, UK |
| 2019 | Michael Snyder, Stanford University |
| 2018 | Phil Hieter, University of British Columbia |
| 2017 | Susan A. Gerbi, Brown University |
| 2016 | Susan E. Celniker, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| 2015 | John H. Postlethwait, University of Oregon |
| 2014 | Hugo J. Bellen, Baylor College of Medicine and HHMI |
| 2013 | R. Scott Hawley, Stowers Institute for Medical Research |
| 2012 | Therese Markow, University of California, San Diego |
| 2011 | Joseph R. Ecker, Salk Institute for Biological Studies |
| 2010 | William M. Gelbart, Harvard University |
| 2009 | Jay C. Dunlap, Dartmouth Medical School |
| 2008 | Mark Johnston, Washington University School of Medicine |
| 2007 | Robert K. Herman, University of Minnesota |
| 2006 | Fred Sherman, University of Rochester |
| 2005 | Thomas C. Kaufman, Indiana University |
| 2004 | Norbert Perrimon, Harvard Medical School and HHMI |
| 2003 | Gerald M. Rubin, University of California, Berkeley |
| 2003 | Allan C. Spradling, Carnegie Institution of Washington |
| 2002 | André Goffeau, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium |
| 2002 | Robert K. Mortimer, University of California, Berkeley |
| 2001 | Gerald R. Fink, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 2000 | John Sulston, Sanger Centre |
| 2000 | Robert Waterston, Washington University in St. Louis |
| 1999 | Michael Ashburner, University of Cambridge, UK |