Scholastic Achievement Awards | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health

PhD students and postdoctoral fellows are the engines driving laboratory research and discovery in a department like ours.

To recognize and celebrate excellence on the part of our PhD and postdoctoral trainees, the Department has instituted awards named after past faculty who had an impact on the Department, John Scocca, Lawrence (Larry) Grossman, Sharon Krag, and Pierre Coulombe.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is grateful to the Scocca family, and to its faculty, for making this award program possible through generous donations and support.

Meet the Award Winners Awardees are announced in late December and present at the annual BMB retreat

John Scocca Achievement Award

Recognizes excellence in laboratory research on the part of a PhD student

John Scocca joined the Department faculty in 1968 and had a storied career until his retirement, as emeritus professor, in 2008. Scocca’s research on bacterial transformation greatly illuminated the process by which antibiotic resistance is spread between bacterial species. He led many important committees within the Bloomberg School, and was a very dedicated teacher to both doctoral and masters’ students. He is fondly remembered for “guiding” first year PhD students toward giving effective and appropriately short presentations about their laboratory research rotations. Scocca passed away in 2012.

Lawrence Grossman Achievement Award

Recognizes excellence in laboratory research on the part of a postdoctoral fellow

Lawrence (Larry) Grossman served as the E.V. McCollum Professor and Chair of the Department between 1975 and 1990. Some of the major contributions that he made include the introduction of DNA repair research and its significance towards establishing cancer risk, the development of a clever molecular epidemiology test to assess, from a blood sample, an individual’s risk of developing UV-induced skin cancer, and the recruitment and mentoring of junior faculty. Grossman had a special fondness for trainees, and had the wonderful habit of joining them for lunch and discussion in the McCollum library on a frequent basis. Grossman passed away in 2006.

Sharon Krag Achievement Award

Recognizes outstanding and impactful leadership on the part of a PhD student or postdoctoral fellow

Sharon Krag, a PhD graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, joined the faculty in 1976 and had a profound impact in the Department and throughout the School. Krag served as Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research at our School the time of her retirement in 2007. Krag's research program was centered on the mechanisms of N-linked (complex) glycosylation and their role in the regulation of protein function.

Pierre Coulombe Award

Recognizes and provides funds for outstanding professional development plans by a postdoctoral fellow

Pierre Coulombe served as the E.V. McCollum Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 2008-2017. His early research on keratin intermediate filaments revealed their essential roles in mechanical support in vivo and identified mutations in keratin genes as the cause of the human genetic disease, epidermolysis bullosa simplex. During his time as BMB chair, Coulombe’s laboratory discovered new roles for keratins in cell signaling and revealed new and unexpected functions in the nucleus. Coulombe is recognized for working tirelessly to enhance the educational and training experiences of BMB students and postdoctoral fellows. This award recognizes his high expectations for all BMB trainees and his strong commitment to launching them to the next phase of their careers. Prior to 2020, the award supported PhD student travel to a scientific conference.