The Sigman Lectureship Award was established in 2002 to honor the memory of David Sigman, Professor in the Departments of Biological Chemistry and Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr Sigman was a former Associate Director of the MBI and a leader in the field of chemical biology. His work uncovered the existence of nucleases and illuminated the molecular mechanisms of catalysis.

 A permanently endowed fund, establishing the Sigman Lectureship Award was made possible by contributions from over 200 of David’s colleagues, friends, and family, in addition to corporate donors such as the Amgen Foundation, Eli Lilly and Company, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and Raytheon Systems Company. The award is presented as part of a scientific symposium, involving presentations by guest speakers and students and culminating in a keynote address by the Lectureship Award recipient.

Previous Honorees

2023  Squire Booker, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
2022  Russell DeBose-Boyd, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern. Watch the lecture here.
2021  Catherine Drennan, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2019  Edward Dennis, Ph.D., University of California San Diego
2018  Michelle Wang, Ph.D., Cornell University 
2017  Yigong Shi, Ph.D., Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
2017   Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D., Harvard University
2016   Carlos Bustamante, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
2015   F. Ulrich Hartl, Ph.D., Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
2014   Randy Schekman, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
2013   Baldomero “Toto” Olivera, Ph.D., University of Utah, Salt Lake City
2012   William T. Wickner, M.D., Dartmouth Medical School
2011   Sir Alan Fersht, FRS, University of Cambridge, UK
2010   Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2009   JoAnne Stubbe, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2008   Steven L. McKnight, Ph.D., University of Texas South Western Medical Center
2007   Christopher T. Walsh, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
2006   Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., University of Texas South Western Medical Center
2005   Anthony J. Pawson Ph.D., Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto
2004   Seth A. Darst Ph.D., Rockefeller University, New York
2003   Judith Klinman, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley