October 28, 2021
LA JOLLA—Salk Professor Tatyana Sharpee has won the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s (ASBMB) 2022 DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences. The award is given to a scientist with an innovative development or application of a computer technology that can enhance research in the life sciences at the molecular level.
“Tanya’s cutting-edge computational approach to neurobiology research shows exciting promise for new insights into the aging process and disease,” says Salk President Rusty Gage. “We are thrilled the Society has recognized her for her groundbreaking work.”
Sharpee is the second woman to receive the Delano Award for Computational Biosciences since its inception. The award includes a plaque, a $3,000 prize and paid travel for Sharpee to present a lecture at the annual ASBMB meeting in Philadelphia, in April 2022.
Sharpee, who holds the Edwin K. Hunter Chair, studies how the brain and other biological systems work and uses information theory to quantify the activity of neurons. In one area of research, she seeks to determine how features are organized within parts of the brain that are responsible for conveying our senses, including vision, hearing and the sense of smell. Revealing the workings of these core senses could help lead to new treatments and brain-machine interfaces for patients with disruptions to these systems, which can happen as a result of stroke, dementia or with schizophrenia.
Salk Professor Tony Hunter, who is an ASBMB member, nominated Sharpee for the award.
The DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences was established by family, friends and colleagues to honor the legacy of Warren L. DeLano, who passed away suddenly in 2009 and was best known for his computer system PyMOL, an open-source program for visualization of complex macromolecular systems.
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