Bonnie Bassler

Bassler, the chair of the Department of Molecular Biology, joined the Princeton faculty in 1994. The Bassler lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use to communicate and developing related molecules that could be used as anti-microbial drugs. "In the midst of making so many contributions to the world of science, Professor Bassler has also remained an outstanding teacher and mentor for undergraduate students both within and outside the scientific disciplines," senior Timothy Keyes wrote in his commendation. As director of Princeton's Council on Science and Technology from 2008 to 2013, Bassler helped create courses that demonstrated the relevance of scientific research to daily life. She co-teaches one of the courses, "From DNA to Human Complexity," which has the highest student evaluations of any introductory course in the physical or biological sciences. She also infuses her teaching and advising with "immense passion" that is "infectious," Keyes wrote. Bassler is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and 2002 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, also known as a "genius grant." Bassler earned her bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of California-Davis, and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University.