MCZ Faculty-Curator Naomi Pierce was awarded the 2019 International Prize for Biology, one of the most prestigious honors a natural scientist can receive. The focus of this award varies each year, this year focusing on the field of insect biology.
From the news release, "Scientists typically become ever more specialized and narrow over the course of their careers: their focus may start with a single species, and culminate with a single gene in that species. What is notable about Dr. Pierce, in contrast, is the way in which her work is inspired by and directed by her interest in natural history, resulting in an ever-expanding range of study species, biological systems and scientific technologies. Dr. Pierce is an outstanding educator, and many of her doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows are now are active across the world as leading authorities on their respective organisms and topics of study.
Unusually, Dr. Pierce’s research is notable for both its breadth and depth. She is a worthy recipient of the International Prize for Biology for these reasons, especially considering the prize is being awarded this year for the study of insects, which are the most highly diversified life-forms in the terrestrial environment."
Prof. Pierce is in the company of past International Prize for Biology laureates from the MCZ, Edward O. Wilson and Ernst Mayr.