Thomas Gregor, an assistant professor of physics and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton, has been named a 2010 Searle Scholar for his innovative research.
Gregor and 14 others from universities and research institutes in the United States were selected for conducting scientific investigations over the long term with the potential for making significant contributions to biology and chemistry. Each Searle scholar will receive $300,000 to support research programs over the next three years.
Gregor studies the cellular and molecular regulation of embryonic development. Recently, he led a team that concluded that collective behavior can arise in cells that are prodded into action by another agent, such as a chemical.
He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Geneva and his doctorate from Princeton. Gregor joined the Princeton faculty in 2009, following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tokyo.
The funds to support the awards come from trusts established under the wills of John Searle, president of G.D. Searle & Co. of Skokie, Ill., and his wife, Frances.
