Suffolk Reporter

The Chemistry Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Brookhaven Women in Science (BWIS) have announced Paris Watson of Johns Hopkins University, Michele Myong of Brookhaven Lab, and Edelmy Marin Bernardez of Stony Brook University as the recipients of the 2024 Joanna Fowler Award in the Chemical and Biochemical Sciences. Each recipient will receive an award of $3,500, funded by BWIS and Brookhaven Lab’s Chemistry Division, Energy & Photon Sciences Directorate, and Human Resources.

The Joanna Fowler Award recognizes outstanding early-career women scientists who have advanced chemical or biochemical sciences through research conducted at or in collaboration with Brookhaven Lab. The award annually acknowledges one or more young women scientists for work conducted while they were graduate students or postdoctoral research associates who collaborated with Brookhaven scientists; worked at Brookhaven as lab-funded graduate students or research associates; or were users at a Brookhaven Lab user facility.

Joanna S. Fowler is a former member of the Lab’s Chemistry, Medical, and Biology Departments (1969-2014) and led Brookhaven Lab’s Radiotracer Chemistry, Instrumentation, and Biological Imaging Program. She pioneered the application of radiotracers for noninvasive brain imaging in addiction research. Among her accomplishments was developing fluorine-18-labeled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) as a radiotracer for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, which has become crucial in cancer diagnosis.

Paris Watson is a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. She holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from Victoria University of Wellington and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. During her Ph.D., she solved high-resolution protein-inhibitor complexes to study selective inhibition of histone deacetylase 6. Watson has been involved in diversity initiatives such as Women+ in Chemistry and outreach programs for elementary and middle school students.

Michele Myong is a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven Lab's Electron- and Photo-Induced Processes group within the Chemistry Division. She holds a B.A. in chemistry from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Northwestern University. Myong's current research focuses on solar energy conversion using picosecond pulse radiolysis to improve organic photovoltaics. She mentors students through various programs and advocates for mental health resources for women in graduate school.

Edelmy Marin Bernardez is a chemistry Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University (SBU), co-advised by Esther Takeuchi, Kenneth Takeuchi, and Amy Marschilok. Her interdisciplinary research integrates chemistry, materials science, and engineering to advance energy storage devices. Marin Bernardez has received several fellowships and serves as a mentor to participants in various internship programs.

The Chemistry Division and BWIS express gratitude to the Fowler Award Review Committee members for their dedication in selecting this year’s award recipients: Angela Kim (NASA Space Radiation Laboratory), Aleida Perez (Office of Educational Programs), Elspeth McSweeney (Energy & Photon Sciences), Esther Tsai (Center for Functional Nanomaterials), Ira Waluyo (NSLS-II), Jantana Blanford (Biology Department), Ping Liu (Chemistry Division), and Rebecca Trojanowski (Interdisciplinary Science Department).

BWIS supports the advancement of women in science through funding provided by Brookhaven Science Associates.