UMass Band alumna Dr. Stephanie A. Wankowicz has been named the inaugural recipient of the American Union of Crystallography’s George M. Sheldrick Award for Contributions to Structural Science.
The award recognizes outstanding early-career researchers whose innovative methods, algorithms, or software are advancing molecular structure determination. Wankowicz’s research challenges the traditional view of proteins as static structures, using computational modeling, machine learning, bioinformatics, and experimental approaches to better understand how protein dynamics and entropy influence biological function.
Wankowicz presented the award keynote on August 18 at the 27th Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography in Calgary, Alberta..
In addition to teaching and conducting research at Vanderbilt University, Wankowicz serves as Scientific Program Director at the Astera Institute, where she leads the diffUSE Program. The initiative seeks to move structural biology from static snapshots toward models that capture the dynamic ensembles of shapes proteins can adopt.
The George M. Sheldrick Award includes a $3,000 prize, Congress registration, and the invitation to deliver a keynote presentation. As its first recipient, Wankowicz sets an impressive standard for a new award recognizing scientists pushing the boundaries of structural biology.