Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences Awarded

Deborah E. Wiley, Chairman of The Wiley Foundation and Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa & JWb), announced today that the ninth annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences will be awarded to Dr. Peter Hegemann, Professor of Molecular Biophysics, Humboldt University, Berlin; Dr. Georg Nagel, Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology, Department of Botany, University of Wuerzburg; and Dr. Ernst Bamberg, Professor and Director of the Dept of Biophysical Chemistry, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt, Germany.

“The Wiley Prize is being awarded to Dr. Hegemann, Dr. Nagel, and Dr. Bamberg for their discovery of a light activated ion channel," said Dr. Günter Blobel, Chairman of the awards jury for the Wiley Prize. “The use of channelrhodopsins has revolutionized the study of networks in the brain.”

The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognizes contributions that have opened new fields of research or have advanced novel concepts or their applications in a particular biomedical discipline. It honors a specific contribution or a series of contributions that demonstrate significant leadership and innovation.

The award will be presented to Dr. Hegemann, Dr. Nagel, and Dr. Bamberg on April 9 2010 at The Rockefeller University, New York City.