The 2024 Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award ceremony took place on the afternoon of November 23. Saturday marked a day of distinction for Dr. Daniel Falush, a PI at the Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as he was granted the award for his contribution to the city of Shanghai. Kong Fuan, Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, conferred the medals and certificates to Dr. Falush and other recipients.
Dr. Falush, from the UK, joined the Institute full-time in October 2019 as the Unit Leader of Statistical Genomics of Bacterial Pathogens. He has devoted himself to scientific research, and has undertaken several projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Shanghai Municipality etc. And he was selected as one of global Highly Cited Researchers in the field of biology several times.
Dr. Falush's research currently focuses on Helicobacter pylori evolution, fitness landscapes in natural bacterial populations, comparative population genetics of bacterial species and community dynamics from metagenomics data. And he has innovatively developed and applied statistical genetic tools to understand diverse biological processes in bacteria, humans and other organisms.
The research achievements of Dr. Falush were published in top academic journals, and recently his unit discovered an ancient ecospecies of Helicobacter pylori and uncovered fascinating new details about the long association of humans and our stomach bacteria, which was published in Nature on October, 16.
In terms of international scientific cooperation, Dr. Falush maintains close contact with high-quality research institutions at home and abroad for practical cooperation. He continuously organized a number of influential symposiums, building a bridge for exchanges and cooperation among domestic and foreign scholars. Meanwhile, he is enthusiastic about the popularization of science and actively promotes the development of population genetics research in China.
"Shanghai is a fantastic city that really brings me happiness," said Dr. Falush. He enjoys the research atmosphere of the institute, loves China, and is willing to put down roots here. He will definitely continue to make positive contributions to improving the international reputation and influence of the institute.
The "Magnolia Silver Award" is an esteemed honor given by the Shanghai Municipal Government to recognize expatriates' contributions to the city. This year, 50 outstanding foreign nationals from 18 countries received the "Magnolia Silver Award" for remarkable achievements in their own fields and important contributions to Shanghai's development and external relations.
Daniel Falush was given the 2024 Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award
Group photo of 2024 Shanghai Magnolia Silver Awardees
