Peter Devreotes, Ph.D., a cell biologist whose research centers on the movement of animal cells, was awarded the 2019 E.B. Wilson Medal from the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

Devreotes, director of the Department of Cell Biology and professor of biological chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, studies the way in which cells sense their environment and move in intentional directions during the formation of embryos, wound healing and immune response. He uses live-cell and single-molecule imaging, genetic analysis and mathematical modeling of the soil-dwelling amoeba Dictyostelium to understand how cells move. Devreotes, author of more than 218 peer-reviewed journal articles and 30 book chapters, is the Isaac Morris and Lucille Elizabeth Hay Professor and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

For nearly 60 years, ASCB has been a leading professional society for cell biologists, and it now has more than 9,000 scientists among its members. The E.B. Wilson Medal the society’s highest scientific honor, is awarded annually to a member who has made significant contributions to the field of cell biology. The prize is named for Edmund Beecher Wilson, a pioneering biologist who received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1881 and, along with scientist Nettie Maria Stevens, discovered the importance of sex determination by chromosomes.

The medal will be presented to Devreotes during the 2019 ASCB and European Molecular Biology Organization Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10, in Washington, D.C. Devreotes will also give the E.B. Wilson Lecture during the meeting.