Kimberly Wei and Anna-Sophia Boguraev Recipients of the 2020 Paul Sigler Prize

“Kimberly started in my lab the summer after her first year and has been in the lab ever since (well, she did take off one summer from lab to spend in China). At this point she operates at the level of a senior graduate student or postdoc, working independently, presenting her work at national and international meetings, co-authoring scientific papers and more. All this while taking a full schedule of classes and serving as co-captain of the Yale skating club. Kimberly has become an authority on a key model system, C. elegans, neuroanatomy, an expert in genetics and molecular biology, an independent and critical scientific thinker, and a polished speaker. She was also a joy to have in the lab and will be sorely missed. I look forward to following her future career!”

 

Professor Dan DiMaio, Anna-Sophia’s advisor wrote:

“Well before joining my lab, Anna-Sophia had dreamed of space and even participated in NASA’s Genes in Space program, launching a PCR experiment onto the International Space Station. In my lab, she conducted experiments with highly simplified artificial proteins to uncover the rules governing transmembrane protein interactions. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to curtail her experiments, she immediately sought to invent a new avenue of analysis. A double major in English, it was no surprise to me that she applied the tools of computational linguistics to make new insights about these interactions. This was a refreshing and innovative approach, which we hope to continue to exploit after her departure. Anyone wanting to carry this project forward should be warned, studying transmembrane protein interactions is rocket science!”

	Paul Sigler (1934-2000) https://tinyurl.com/PaulSiglerObit