The Biophysical Society has announced that Jie Xiao, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA, will receive the 2026 Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award. Xiao will be honored at the Society’s 70th Annual Meeting, being held in San Francisco, California from February 21-25, 2026.
Xiao will be recognized for her pioneering work in developing single-molecule imaging and analysis approaches to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of bacterial cell division and transcription.
“Jie’s colleagues and collaborators note that what truly distinguishes Jie is her vision and her unabashed boldness to pursue novel scientific concepts and approaches,” said BPS President Lynmarie Thompson of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “It is not only her work, but her ingenuity, technical mastery, and relentless drive that set her apart. The fact that Jie’s technical innovations have become standard tools in bacterial cell biology labs and are considered foundational references in the field is the reason she has been selected as the Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award Winner.”
The Carolyn Cohen Innovation Award recognizes a BPS member who advances our fundamental understanding of biological systems through the development of novel theory, models, concepts, techniques, or applications.
Doctoral researchers
Meanwhile, Yiechang Lin, of Australian National University, Australia and Kai Sheng, of Scripps Research, USA, have been named recipients of the 2026 Outstanding Doctoral Research in Biophysics Award.
Lin will be recognized for advancing our understanding of how lipid-protein interactions affect function and Sheng will be recognized for pioneering new approaches to elucidate the mechanism of bacterial ribosome assembly and for constructing a comprehensive structural map for the large subunit assembly.
“Yiechang and Kai jointly represent the most outstanding work being done by doctoral researchers at this time,” said BPS President Lynmarie Thompson of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “I am delighted to honor the work of Yiechang and Kai as the winners of the Outstanding Doctoral Research in Biophysics Award. They have both excelled in their respective biophysical studies and have been prolific publishers at an early stage of their careers.”
The Outstanding Doctoral Research in Biophysics Award, introduced in 2025, recognizes excellence in thesis research, writing, and service by two PhD recipients in biophysics, one who received their PhD at an academic institution in the United States and one who received their PhD at a non-US institution.
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