UBC Postdoctoral Research Fellow Jürgen Niesser has been awarded the 2017 Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award. The $2,000 award is adjudicated annually to a postdoctoral fellow who shares Dr. Page’s academic excellence and passion for life.
Dr. Niesser, a postdoctoral fellow in the Strynadka Lab, accepted the award in a ceremony on Thursday, October 26, 2017, in which he presented a talk titled “Blurring the Lines between Fun and Science”. In addition to his research work, which focuses on multiple novel target-inhibitor complexes related with cancer and neurological disorders, Dr. Niesser currently serves as VP Finance for the UBC Postdoctoral Association.
The Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award is awarded annually in memory of UBC alumnus Dr. Michael John Page. Dr. Page completed his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2004 under Dr. Ross MacGillivray, and went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Enrico Di Cera at Washington University in St. Louis. At the time of his sudden passing in 2013, he held a junior faculty position at the University of California, San Francisco.
The Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award is awarded annually to a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology or in the Centre for Blood Research in recognition of outstanding academic achievement combined with significant extra-curricular achievements (both scientific and non-scientific). Nominees must have held a PDF appointment at UBC for at least one year.
This award is supported by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Centre for Blood Research, and the generous support of New England Biolabs and the Page family.
Michael John Page Postdoctoral Fellow Award presentation ceremony, October 26, 2017. Left to right:
Dr. Ross MacGillivray (Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), Dr. Jürgen Niesser (2017 winner) and
Mr. Roger Page (Dr. Page's father).