Michelle D. Wang, the James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor of the Physical Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the 2027 Max Delbrück Prize in Biological Physics from the American Physical Society (APS). This is APS’s highest honor for outstanding achievements in biological physics.
She received the prize for her “landmark experiments and technological breakthroughs that have changed the research landscape of DNA mechanics and topology and advanced the understanding of complex fundamental processes, such as transcription, replication, and chromatin dynamics,” the APS said in a statement.
Wang’s research combines physics and biology to uncover the fundamental principles that govern genome function. Her work has shown that DNA is not merely a carrier of genetic information but also regulates the molecular processes that act upon it. By developing powerful single-molecule tools to measure forces, torques, and motions in real time, her laboratory has uncovered how DNA mechanics and topology influence transcription, replication, chromosome organization and topoisomerase activity.
Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.
