The Chemistry Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) have announced Paris Watson of Johns Hopkins University, Michele Myong of Brookhaven Lab, and Edelmy Marin Bernardez of Stony Brook University as the recipients of the 2024 Joanna Fowler Award in the Chemical and Biochemical Sciences. Each recipient will receive an award of $3,500, funded by BWIS and Brookhaven Lab’s Chemistry Division, Energy & Photon Sciences Directorate, and Human Resources.
The Joanna Fowler Award recognizes outstanding early-career women scientists who have advanced chemical or biochemical sciences through research conducted at or in collaboration with Brookhaven Lab. The award annually honors one or more young women scientists for work conducted during their graduate studies or postdoctoral research involving collaboration with Brookhaven scientists.
Joanna S. Fowler was a prominent member of Brookhaven Lab’s Chemistry, Medical, and Biology Departments from 1969 to 2014. She led the Radiotracer Chemistry, Instrumentation, and Biological Imaging Program and was instrumental in developing radiotracers for biomedical imaging. Her work included pioneering noninvasive brain imaging techniques to study addiction mechanisms and developing fluorine-18-labeled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
Paris Watson is a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. She holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from Victoria University of Wellington and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Watson has extensive experience using macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the National Light Source Synchrotron-II (NSLS-II). During her Ph.D., she focused on studying protein-inhibitor complexes to understand histone deacetylase 6 inhibition.
Watson is dedicated to mentorship and served as president of Women+ in Chemistry during her Ph.D., where she also chaired the biannual Women in STEM at Penn Symposium. She has mentored undergraduate students and participated in outreach programs for younger students.
Michele Myong is a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven Lab's Electron- and Photo-Induced Processes group within the Chemistry Division. She earned her B.A. in chemistry from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Northwestern University. Myong's research involves studying solar energy conversion using picosecond pulse radiolysis to improve organic photovoltaics.
Myong mentors students through programs such as Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) and Project SHORT, advocating for mental health resources for women in graduate school.
Edelmy Marin Bernardez is a chemistry Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University (SBU), co-advised by Esther Takeuchi, Kenneth Takeuchi, and Amy Marschilok. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on advancing energy storage devices through collaborations with institutions including Brookhaven Lab.
Marin Bernardez has received several fellowships including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship since 2022 and the Dr. W. Burghardt Turner Fellowship since 2020. She mentors participants in SBU's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
The Chemistry Division and BWIS expressed gratitude to the Fowler Award Review Committee members from Brookhaven Lab: Angela Kim (NASA Space Radiation Laboratory), Aleida Perez (Office of Educational Programs), Elspeth McSweeney (Energy & Photon Sciences), Esther Tsai (Center for Functional Nanomaterials), Ira Waluyo (NSLS-II), Jantana Blanford (Biology Department), Ping Liu (Chemistry Division), and Rebecca Trojanowski (Interdisciplinary Science Department).
BWIS supports women's advancement in science through funding from Brookhaven Science Associates.