Holy Cross Professor Earns Prestigious National Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars

WORCESTER, Mass. – Professor Mary Lee Ledbetter, of the biology department at the College of the Holy Cross, will receive the National Science Foundation (NSF) 2003 Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars. Only six college and university faculty members nationwide received this distinction. It is the highest honor bestowed by the NSF for excellence in both teaching and research. Other recipients include faculty from Princeton University, the University of Michigan, Tufts University, Hampshire College, and the University of Delaware.

The NSF Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars recognizes individuals who have demonstrated achievement and promise future success in both scientific research and the education of undergraduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Grant recipients were selected from a national competition based on their accomplishments as scientists and educators and a written proposal highlighting their intended efforts at improving undergraduate education at their respective institutions.

The prize of $300,955 will be used over the next four years to support scientific initiatives at Holy Cross and within the Worcester Public Schools. The project, titled "Genomics in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Ion Transport and Cell Communication," has been divided into three main areas:

1. It will allow for expanded research opportunities for Holy Cross students in the fields of genomics and bioinformatics, new sciences based on the analysis and interpretation of genetic sequencing in humans and other organisms. 2. It will facilitate the hiring of a post-doctoral fellow who will learn to supervise undergraduate research projects and develop undergraduate courses. 3. It will provide increased opportunities for students to share their research and scientific knowledge with local elementary and secondary schools.

"Professor Ledbetter's long-standing dedication to the College's science programs, coupled with her enduring commitment to students, make her truly deserving of this honor," said Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of Holy Cross. "We are excited about the depth and breadth of scientific opportunities this award will bring to the College and the Worcester Public Schools."

Ledbetter earned her Ph.D. from the Laboratory of Genetics at The Rockefeller University in New York, N.Y and her B.A. from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. Before joining the Holy Cross faculty in 1980, she held various positions at Dartmouth Medical School.

During her time at Holy Cross she has served as the College's graduate studies advisor and has been active in promoting science careers for women. She has also worked with high school students and senior citizen groups within the Worcester community on stem cell research, genomics and cloning projects.

Ledbetter is currently researching gap junctions, structures found in the membranes of most animal cells, that make it possible for groups of cells to share nutrients and communicate with each other. Properly functioning gap junctions help cells work together to do things like contract the heart muscle and prompt cell division in developing embryos. She is a regular contributor to International Gap Junction Conferences, where she is the only participant from a liberal arts college.

Over the past 22 years, Ledbetter has directed more than 60 undergraduate research projects. She routinely publishes with undergraduates, and has co-authored 35 papers, lab manuals and abstracts, many with undergraduate students.

A member of several professional scientific organizations, she was elected to the Council of the American Society for Cell Biology from 1995 - 98, a position more frequently given to highly visible researchers than to those dedicated to education.

Ledbetter and her husband, a musicologist, have two grown children and a new granddaughter. They have recently moved to Worcester after living in Newton, Mass. for the past 19 years.

Ledbetter will be presented with the NSF award at a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences on June 3, 2003.

NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of natural and social science and engineering, with an annual budget of nearly $5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 10,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $200 million in professional and service contracts yearly.