The 2nd Charles E. Helmstetter Prize
May 12, 2025
Awardees
Nancy Kleckner (Lifetime Achievement Award)
Harvard University, USA
Prof. Nancy Kleckner is renowned for her pioneering research on dynamic chromosomal processes in E. coli and eukaryotic cells. She discovered SeqA, a protein crucial in DNA replication initiation, significantly advancing the field of bacterial cell cycle research and broadening our understanding of chromosomal behavior across various organisms. She received the 2025 Charles Helmstetter Lifetime Achievement Award in microbial physiology for her pioneering contribution in E. coli cell cycle, chromosome structure, and dynamics.
Nathalie Q. Balaban (Innovation Breakthrough Award)
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Prof. Nathalie Q. Balaban has pioneered the biophysical study of bacterial responses to antibiotics, revolutionizing our understanding of treatment failure and the evolution of resistance. She received the 2025 Charles Helmstetter Innovation Breakthrough Award in microbial physiology for her contribution to understanding bacterial antibiotic persistence.
Award Ceremony
1. Prof. Nancy Kleckner received recognition for her pioneering contribution in E. coli cell cycle, chromosome structure, and dynamics.
2. Prof. Nathalie Q. Balaban received recognition for her contribution to understanding bacterial antibiotic persistence.
3. Prof. Charles Helmstetter: In memoriam video honoring Steve Cooper and Noboru Sueoka
4. Prof. Arieh Zaritsky: Evolution of The Charles E. Helmstetter Prize (2018-2025), and EMBO's Workshops Expanding Beyond Europe
Prize Committee
Ariel Amir
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Dr. Ariel Amir has made remarkable contributions to bacterial cell biology, utilizing mathematical and physical models to advance our understanding of microbial cell growth and division within complex systems.
Johan Elf
Uppsala University, Sweden
Dr. Johan Elf has pioneered single-molecule methods and stochastic simulations in biophysics, greatly enhancing our knowledge of transcription factor kinetics and intracellular processes in bacterial cells.
Marco Cosentino Lagomarsino
IFOM - cancer research institute, Italy
Dr. Marco Cosentino Lagomarsino has significantly advanced our understanding of bacterial cell division and chromosome dynamics through his research on quantitative biology and statistical physics, enriching computational and theoretical biology.
Chenli Liu（Chair）
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, CAS, China
Dr. Chenli Liu has driven advancements in synthetic biology and quantitative microbiology by synthesizing synthetic cells and engineering bacteria for tumor therapy, deepening our knowledge of bacterial cell growth and division.
Wenying Shou
University College London, UK
Dr. Wenying Shou has made noteworthy contributions to synthetic biology and microbial ecology, focusing on engineering microbial communities and understanding their cooperative behaviors, which has advanced our knowledge of microbial interactions and evolution.
Jade Wang
University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
Dr. Jade Wang has greatly enhanced our understanding of bacterial stress responses and nucleotide signaling, examining how bacteria adapt to environmental stresses and manage conflicts between DNA replication and transcription.
Jie Xiao
Johns Hopkins University, USA
Dr. Jie Xiao has significantly advanced our understanding of bacterial macromolecular machineries involved in transcription, genome organization and cell division through her pioneering research in single-molecule biophysics, expanding our knowledge of cellular processes at the molecular level.
