茄子直播

(photo courtesy of NSERC)

Top evolutionary geneticist Aneil Agrawal takes Steacie Prize

Award-winning teacher recognized with prestigious research award

Professor Aneil Agrawal of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science at 茄子直播 is this year鈥檚 recipient of the prestigious Steacie Prize.

The prize is awarded annually to a person 40 years of age or younger for notable contributions to research in Canada.

鈥淚 am thrilled to receive this award and to shine a light on some of the exciting work happening in evolutionary biology at 茄子直播,鈥 said Agrawal.  鈥淚 have greatly benefited from being in a department with outstanding colleagues and wonderful students.鈥

A Canada Research Chair and Distinguished Professor of Evolutionary Genetics, Agrawal is working to advance our understanding of the evolutionary consequences of the flow of harmful mutations. He investigates how genetic mutations enter populations, as well as how they may be removed by different forms of selection. Several of Agrawal鈥檚 groundbreaking experiments have demonstrated that sex evolves so that organisms can obtain genetic traits in order to adapt to new environments.

 

鈥淎neil is internationally recognized as one of the top evolutionary geneticists of his generation,鈥 said David Cameron, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. 鈥淗is insightful and ground-breaking research has led to a truly outstanding publication record, an impressive string of national and international awards and prizes, and a reputation as one of the most brilliant and incisive thinkers in evolutionary biology. We are very proud he is part of the Arts & Science community.鈥

Although relatively early in his career, Agrawal鈥檚 work has already been recognized with a number of accolades. He was of the Royal Society of Canada, and has received the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship (2013), the Robert H. Haynes Young Scientist Award from the Genetics Society of Canada (2007) and the Young Investigators鈥 Award from the American Society of Naturalists (2004).  

In addition to being an exceptional scientist, Agrawal has been recognized with an Outstanding Teaching Award from the Faculty of Arts & Science. He is noted by students for 鈥渆loquent lectures that link teaching and research,鈥 and of the many undergraduate students who work on experiments in his lab, several have published in important biology journals.

Students describe Agrawal as a 鈥渕ost passionate, enthusiastic, reflective, caring and accessible teacher鈥 whose courses on the mathematical and genetic foundations of evolutionary biology are considered among the most challenging in the department. Despite the difficulty of this material, students rate his courses very positively with re-take rates as high as 100 per cent.

photo of Agrawal and small, bright green frog 

Agrawal is the 19th 茄子直播 scientist to receive the Steacie Prize since it was created in 1964. The last recipients were electrical & computer engineering professor , pharmacy professor , computer scientist Aaron Hertzmann (2010) and astronomer and astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana (2009).The prize is administered by the Trustees of the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fund, a private foundation dedicated to the advancement of science and engineering in Canada.

鈥淲e are profoundly grateful to the trustees of the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fund for their sustained commitment to recognizing and advancing science and engineering in Canada,鈥 said Vivek Goel, 茄子直播 vice-president of research and innovation. 鈥淭he prize is a wonderful reminder to celebrate and encourage some of this country鈥檚 most extraordinary research talent.

鈥淲e are also deeply honoured that so many Steacie Prize recipients have chosen the University of Toronto as their home.鈥

 

The Bulletin Brief logo

Subscribe to The Bulletin Brief