ISCB Newsletter 8-2

Dr. Janet Thornton Recognized As 2005 ISCB Senior Scientist Accomplishment Award Winner

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) has recognized Dr. Janet Thornton, Director of the EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), as the winner of the annual Senior Scientist Accomplishment Award. Dr. Thornton is the third scientist to have earned the honor.

"Dr. Thornton's many contributions to bioinfor-matics have greatly advanced our under-standing of protein structure through computation. Beginning in the 1970's, Dr. Thornton has published many predictive and explanatory models of protein function; protein-protein, protein-ligand and protein-dna interactions, and, more recently, protein catalytic sites. In the 1990's, she created the CATH classification system for protein structures and the associated database, now vital tools for understanding protein chemistry and evolution," said Dr. Lawrence Hunter of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, the ISCB's founder and current chair of the ISCB Awards Committee.

"In addition to her deep scientific contributions, Dr. Thornton has directed the European Bioinformatics Institute since October of 2001, dramatically expanding its research mission while continuing to provide its vital and unique databases to the molecular biology community," he said.

The Senior Scientist Accomplishment Award recognizes members of the computational biology community who are more than 12 to 15 years post-degree and have made major contributions to the field of computational biology through research, education, service, or a combination of the three.

The prize will be awarded at the ISCB's annual meeting, Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) in Detroit, Michigan, from June 25 through 29. Dr. Thornton will deliver the annual Senior Scientist Accomplishment Award keynote lecture as the finale to the conference at 11:30am on the 29th.

Dr. Thomas Lengauer, member of the ISCB Awards Committee and professor at the Max Planck Institute said, "Janet Thornton could be described as 'Miss Structural Bioinformatics'. She has made outstanding and seminal research contributions to her field and, as Director of the EBI and the coordinator of the BioSapiens Network of Excellence, has selflessly dedicated herself to developing the research landscape in computational biology."

In 2002 Dr. Thornton was appointed Extraordinary Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge and Honorary Professor, University of Cambridge and in 2003 she was elected a Foreign Associate Member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, and a Commander of the British Empire. Dr. Thornton has been the recipient of more than 20 other awards and appointments to highly respected Institutes and funding councils, most notably, the 1986 Ronald Tress Prize for Research, 1991 Pfizer Academic Award for Excellence in Research, 2000 Hans Neurath Award, Protein Society, and the 2002 Feodor Lynen Medal.