Three Structural Biologists Awarded Emory University’s Inaugural Max Cooper Prize in Immunology
Three prominent structural biologists have been named the first recipients of Emory University’s Max Cooper Prize in Immunology. The $100,000 prize, to be equally divided among the recipients, recognizes their groundbreaking research in immunology.
Named in honor of Max D. Cooper, MD, a distinguished immunologist known for his transformative contributions to the field, the prize celebrates advances in understanding the adaptive immune system. Cooper’s work, which earned him the Lasker Award in 2019, has significantly impacted the treatment of human diseases.
The prize jury selected Pamela J. Bjorkman, PhD, K. Christopher Garcia, PhD, and Ian A. Wilson, PhD, based on their outstanding fundamental and translational research in immunology.
Pamela J. Bjorkman, the David Baltimore Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering and a Merkin Institute Professor at Caltech, was recognized for her research on how T cells identify and destroy infected and cancerous cells. Her work focuses on the structural and functional details of immune cell surface molecules. “I am especially honored to receive this award because of my deep admiration for Max Cooper’s many fundamental discoveries in immunology,” says Bjorkman. “I’m also honored to share the prize with Ian Wilson and Chris Garcia, two giants in the field of structural immunology.”
K. Christopher Garcia, the Younger Family Professor and professor of structural biology at Stanford University, was honored for his investigations into the structures of immune cell receptors and their interactions with cytokines. His findings have led to novel therapeutic approaches for cancer. “Max Cooper is a giant of immunology,” says Garcia. “So to be awarded the inaugural Emory Max Cooper Prize is a great honor. Also to receive this recognition along with Ian Wilson and Pamela Bjorkman is very humbling, as their work played a part in inspiring me to choose structural immunology as a focus of my career. I feel like my most exciting science is ahead of me.”
Ian A. Wilson, the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, was awarded for his research on how antibodies bind to pathogens, which is essential for developing new vaccines and therapies. “I am thrilled and deeply honored to have been awarded this prize with Pamela and Chris,” says Wilson. “It is especially poignant that it is named for Max Cooper, whose watershed discoveries changed the field of immunology and opened up new horizons to investigate and understand the beauty, complexity and origins of the immune system.”
“All three of our award winners are greatly deserving of the honor of this inaugural prize named for Dr. Cooper,” says Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH, executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University. “Their work has truly changed the face of immunology, from structural biology to protein discoveries.”
Bjorkman, Garcia, and Wilson all conducted closely related research in structural biology—the study of the three-dimensional structures of living molecules through advanced techniques including X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. Like the namesake of the Max Cooper Prize, all three researchers are renowned for their cutting-edge discoveries and pioneering efforts to answer key questions about the structure of the immune system.
The inaugural awardees will be honored at The Cooper Prize Symposium on September 12, 2024, on the Emory campus.
