The Excellence Awards - 2001

Excellence in Research
Joachim Frank

Joachim Frank, a distinguished scientist at the Wadsworth Center for 26 years, has been a member of the faculty of the School of Public Health since its inception in 1986. His pivotal role in the development of the field of molecular electron microscopy culminated with the publication of his papers on the structure of the ribosome and on the protein elongation cycle in the prestigious Nature, Science and Cell. Frank�s research group includes biophysicists, biochemists, theoretical physicists and computer scientists. Their findings led to the formulation of a model for protein translation, and the research may lead to new strategies for the development of anti-viral drugs.

Professor Frank has also trained numerous visiting scientists, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory. He is co-director of the biomedical sciences track in Structural Cell Biology and the director of the Wadsworth Resource for Visualization of Biological Complexity. Among Frank�s accolades was the Elizabeth Roberts Cole Award from the Biophysical Society in 1993. He also chaired one of the first Gordon Conferences on three-dimensional electron microscopy.

Frank continues to be a major innovative force in his field. He is the only scholar in the region to receive the prestigious senior investigatorship in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. During his distinguished career, he has worked in laboratories throughout the U.S. and Europe and is one of the University�s most highly prized researchers.


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