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Scientist to Discuss Her Breakthrough Reseach and Need for Diversity in STEM

Tiny Conspiracies: How Bacteria Talk to Each Other will be the topic of the NJCU Presidential Speaker Series when Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Chair and Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, appears at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. to present a free lecture on how her lab’s breakthrough research is leading to a new generation of antibiotics.

A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine, among many other scientific societies, Dr. Bassler is a passionate advocate for diversity in STEM programs across the country and will devote part of her lecture to that pressing issue.

Dr. Bassler received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Bassler joined the Princeton University faculty in 1994. The recipient of Princeton’s “President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching,” she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses at the University and is actively involved in and committed to educating lay people in science and attracting more women and minorities to the field.

The research in her laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular communication, a process called quorum sensing. Dr. Bassler’s research is paving the way to the development of novel therapies for combating bacteria by disrupting quorum-sensing-mediated communication.

Dr. Bassler has received numerous honors and awards for her work including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science, the National Academy of Sciences’ Richard Lounsbery Award, the UNESCO-L’Oreal Women in Science in North America, the Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine, the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Award.

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she has served as President of the American Society of Microbiology and served on the National Science Board. Dr. Bassler is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She can be seen on NOVA scienceNOW, on TED Talks, and on BigThink.

“We are honored to partner with the Liberty Science Center to present such an accomplished scientist as Dr. Bonnie Bassler,” said NJCU President Sue Henderson, “And we are pleased to make the lecture free for anyone fascinated by science. Come join us, bring your children, bring your grandchildren, and prepare to be amazed.”

“I am looking forward to speaking with students, teachers and parents,” said Dr. Bassler.  “There are so many opportunities for young people to pursue their dreams in science and technology and I hope my experience will inspire others to follow.”

The NJCU Presidential Speaker Series at the Liberty Science Center has been made possible in part thanks to generous support from the NJCU Foundation, NJM Insurance Group, Withum, William E. Simon Foundation, the Jersey City Public Schools, the New Jersey Science Teachers Association, the New Jersey Science Education Leadership Association, the Biology Teachers Association, the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey, InnovationNJ, the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, the NJ Chamber of Commerce, and the African-American Chamber of Commerce NJ.

The Liberty Science Center is located at 222 Jersey City Boulevard in Jersey City. Parking is free after 5:00 p.m. Click to register.