Sebla Kutluay wins 2022 R. Gaurth Hansen Award
Sebla B. Kutluay has been selected as the 2022 R. Gaurth Hansen Award winner. Kutluay is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine.
The R. Gaurth Hansen award was established by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University (MSU) to honor the memory of R. Gaurth Hansen, who was the founding Chairperson of the Department of Biochemistry at MSU.
Kutluay earned her PhD in the Cell and Molecular Biology program under the supervision of BMB faculty member Steve Triezenberg. Her dissertation research focused on the role of chromatin-related proteins in regulating gene expression during herpes simplex virus infection.
“I am very honored and humbled to receive this award, which is a testament to the outstanding research and training environment at MSU,” said Kutluay. “I also cannot thank enough my MSU mentors and teachers, in particular Dr. Triezenberg, who provided me with a solid foundation that helped me immensely as I moved forward in my career.”
Before coming to MSU, Kutluay received her Bachelor of Science in the Biological Science and Bioengineering program from Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey and received postdoctoral research training in the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University.
“I continue to work with numerous outstanding scientists that passed through MSU at some point in their career and we all are proud to be Spartans,” added Kutluay. “Thank you all so much for this incredible honor!”
Recipients of the R. Gaurth Hansen award will have received their undergraduate research training, graduate research training, or graduate training leading to the Ph.D. in a program with which the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology faculty mentor is affiliated. Recipients will currently be within their first six years of a tenure track appointment (Assistant Professor or equivalent) at an established academic institution, or in the equivalent early stages of a career in a non-academic setting. In either case, the selected candidates will have a record of excellence in accomplishments thus far, and demonstrated qualities that provide a basis for expecting future outstanding performance in their chosen career.
Normally the recipient of this award would be honored at BMB’s Awards Banquet, but this year’s banquet has been cancelled because of COVID safety concerns. Kutluay will present a seminar later in the year.
