Magdalena Bezanilla is a biologist and the Ernest Evert Just 1907 Professor at Dartmouth College. Bezanilla is known for her research into molecular mechanisms that affect cell shape.
Early life and education
editMagdalena was an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in physics. She received her doctoral degree in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University.[1]
Career and research
editBezanilla was an associate professor of biology at University Of Massachusetts, Amherst.[2] Magdalena and her colleagues developed a technique called multi-gene silencing to simultaneously silence genes in a multicellular organism.[1] She joined Dartmouth University as the Ernest Evert Just 1907 Professor in 2017.[3]
Her work focuses on the configuration of plant cell walls and supporting structures that govern a cell’s shape, internal organization, and patterns of growth and development. She has also pioneered the use of a moss called Physcomitrella as a model system in her research. Bezanilla developed the use of moss physcomitrella patens as a model system to figure out proteins in the plant cell regulate growth and morphogenesis.[4][3]
Awards and recognition
editIn 2023, Bezanilla was named a fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists.[5] Bezanilla was the first woman to win the Golden Spore Award in 2022 from the International Molecular Moss Science Society.[6] She also received the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.[1] In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[1] Bezanilla was awarded the Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering in 2007 for her research into molecular mechanisms that affect cell shape.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Nealy, Michelle J. (2012-02-01). "Emerging Scholars: Cell Biology Pioneer – Magdalena Bezanilla". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
- ^ "Cell Biology Pioneer – Magdalena Bezanilla". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ a b Blumberg, Joseph (2017-08-07). "Magdalena Bezanilla Is Dartmouth's New E.E. Just Professor". Dartmouth news. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Biologists Unlock Secrets of Plants' Growing Tips". phys.org. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Magdalena Bezanilla Named Fellow of American Society of Plant Biologists". Dartmouth Faculty of Arts and Sciences. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Golden Spore Award". International Molecular Moss Science Society. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Bezanilla, Magdalena • The David and Lucile Packard Foundation". The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Retrieved 2024-11-26.