The Biosciences Division conferred its 2025 Distinguished Achievement Awards for excellence in both science and technology and research support areas. The peer-nominated awards were announced by Division Director Jesse Labbé at the organization’s May 13 all-hands meeting.
Christy Franklin received the Administrative Excellence Award for above-and-beyond service to the Center for Molecular Biophysics and the Molecular and Cellular Imaging Group during the year.
Brian Sanders received the Mentorship Excellence, Research Staff Award, noting his invaluable guidance and technical expertise in support of students, postdocs, and other colleagues, encouraging growth and confidence.
Amber Webb won the Mentorship Excellence, Technical Staff Award, noting her mentorship and lab space managerial excellence, including insightful advice on experimental design that fosters a positive, reassuring environment for all team members.
Mac McLennan received the BSD Outreach and Translation of Research Award, noting his exemplary coordination of Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory tours showcasing the division’s science to diverse audiences and enhancing communications with stakeholders and other visitors.
Liangyu Qian won the award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Research, noting impactful contributions within just the first 18 months of her work at ORNL, including multiple invention disclosures as lead inventor and a first-author manuscript.
Nancy Engle received the Technical Excellence Award, exemplifying technical and operational excellence in both lab and field settings, consistently demonstrating reliability, attention to detail, and an unwavering commitment to safety protocols.
The Best Science Highlight Award went to the BOOSTER Gene Team, including Jay Chen, Mengjun Shu, Sara Jawdy, Dana Carper, Dave Weston, Paul Abraham, Jennifer Morrell-Falvey and Gerald Tuskan. The award recognized an outstanding highlight describing a groundbreaking publication in Developmental Cell detailing the discovery of the BOOSTER gene, which significantly enhances plant growth and photosynthesis in a range of species, attracting substantial media attention and interest from companies for licensing opportunities.
The Team Excellence Award went to the LDRD Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Analysis Team, awarded to both BSD and Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) team members. The team includes Mengjun Shu, Dave Weston, Alyssa Carrell, Sara Jawdy, Tyler Hackworth, Mac McLennan, Tao Yao, and Jay Chen of BSD, and Kelsey Carter, Christian Salvador, and Lianhong Gu of ESD. Their interdisciplinary approach seamlessly integrated automated high-throughput phenotyping, molecular measurements, genetic mapping, and predictive modeling, paving the way for future research in plant-environment interactions and bioproduct development.
The Most Enabling Capability Award went to the Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory AI Image Analysis Team, including John Lagergren (team lead), Larry York, Anand Seethepalli, Dan Hopp, Janou Milligan, and Jack Orebaugh. The team has pioneered the development of AI models using vision transformers for segmenting poplar and switchgrass images in APPL, representing a significant advancement over traditional methods that require large, labeled datasets.
The Team Outreach Excellence Award went to the BioTN Scipreneur Challenge Team, including April Armes, Spenser Cox, Stephen Zambrzycki of BSD and ChristiAnna Brantley of the Isotope Science and Enrichment Directorate. The award recognizes their exceptional teamwork that led to winning first place in the statewide Scipreneur Challenge, where they developed a biotechnology venture based on BSD discoveries aimed at reducing crop losses from soybean cyst nematodes. The award showcased the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration at ORNL.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. —Stephanie Seay
