The meeting is the world's largest gathering of biophysicists, with more than 6,000 attendees anticipated this year, according to conference organizers.
Biophysicists use the ideas and methods of physics and chemistry to study and explain the structure and behavior of living organisms and the mechanisms of biological processes. They often explore biological questions at the molecular level, from analyzing tumors to deciphering protein structures.
Fifty-four students representing universities in the United States, Austria, Canada, Germany, India, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were selected by the Biophysical Society to receive the competitive award, which is based on scientific merit, with priority given to those who will present at the conference.
O'Malley's presentation will highlight her research on G-protein coupled receptors (GCPRs). These proteins, which reside in the cell membrane, are linked to HIV, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases.
According to researchers, more than half of all the pharmaceuticals on the market affect these proteins in some way; however, detailed information about their structure is not yet available. Such information could foster the design of more effective, disease-fighting therapeutics.
As part of a research project led by her adviser, Anne Skaja Robinson, associate professor of chemical engineering, O'Malley is working to grow human GCPRs in yeast in order to garner sufficient quantities of the protein for laboratory analysis. Ultimately, researchers in the Robinson laboratory hope to use these methods to obtain a snapshot of what these proteins look like at the atomic level.
This latest award is one of several honors that O'Malley has received recently. In 2006, she was one of 20 students selected nationwide to receive the NASA-Harriett G. Jenkins, Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, which will provide $30,500 in tuition and research support per year for the next three years.
Last July, O'Malley won a $2,000 prize from Merck for the best overall poster presentation at the Biochemical Engineering XV conference in Quebec City, Canada.
In November, she was one of seven female chemical engineering students from across the nation to receive a $1,000 Women's Initiative Committee Travel Grant to attend the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in Salt Lake City.
Article by Tracey Bryant
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson