2020 Chi-Bin Chien Award Winner: Margot Williams, PhD

Margot Williams, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas, USA

Award Lecture - A Primary Role for Nodal Signaling in Gastrulation Morphogenesis

Margot received her B.S. from Muskingum College in Ohio, then completed her Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Ann Sutherland at University of Virginia where she studied mammalian development. She next made the switch to zebrafish during her postdoctoral training with Dr. Lila Solnica-Krezel at Washington University School of Medicine. While there, she was the recipient of multiple fellowships, including a K99/R00 career transition award from the NICHD. At all stages of her scientific training, Margot has enjoyed teaching, mentoring, and volunteering with students of all ages to encourage their passion for scientific inquiry. She started her independent lab at Baylor College of Medicine in November 2019, where she seeks to understand how embryonic cell behaviors are spatiotemporally coordinated to shape the emerging body plan.

Lab website: https://www.bcm.edu/research/labs/margot-williams

The Chi-Bin Chien Award was established by the zebrafish research community and the International Zebrafish Society (IZFS) in memory of Dr. Chi-Bin Chien. The award recognizes outstanding graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, or recently appointed faculty members from any country who have made significant contributions to the field of zebrafish research and have exhibited the generosity and openness that characterized and motivated Chi-Bin Chien. Read more about the CBC Award and its past recipients here.