Harmit Malik Receives Prestigious Award In Genetics Research

Dr Harmit Singh Malik has been awarded the Edward Novitski Prize by the Genetics Society of America (GSA). He has been given the award for extraordinary creativity and intellectual ingenuity in genetics research.

Dr Harmit is a professor and associate director for the Basic Sciences Division at the US-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

GSA is an international society of more than 5,000 scientists committed to deepening our understanding of the living world through genetics. Dr. Edward Novitski was a lifelong GSA member who used fruit flies to study the mechanics of chromosomes.

The prize recognizes a single experimental accomplishment or a significant and exceptionally creative body of work that solves a difficult problem in genetics.

Malik first became interested in genetic conflict during his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Hutch geneticist Dr. Steve Henikoff. He wanted to understand why centromeres — key segments of chromosomes that are required for proper separation of chromosomes during cell division — are evolving rapidly. Usually such fundamental stretches of DNA evolve slowly.

“Harmit has a remarkable ability to identify the most interesting phenomena and discover new evolutionary mechanisms that others have overlooked,” said Basic Sciences Director, fellow HHMI Investigator and previous Novitski Prize winner Dr Sue Biggins.

Malik’s ability to look at old problems with a fresh perspective is one of his secrets, said Henikoff, also an HHMI Investigator.

“I am incredibly humbled by this award, especially as I have been inspired by Ed Novitski’s formative work on genetic conflicts,” says Dr Harmit. “This is an individual award, which would never have happened were it not for the creative geneticists who have trained me and trained with me.”

Visit GSA to view list of others who have been awarded by the GSA this year.

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