Karl Palmquist Wins 2024 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has announced the recipients of its 2024 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, which recognizes exceptional achievement in graduate studies in the biological sciences. Among the twelve honorees was Karl H. Palmquist, Martin A. and Helen Chooljian Member in Biology in the School of Natural Sciences.

Palmquist, who received his Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University, was recognized for designing innovative new methods for studying the mechanical forces by which cells in developing chicken skin organize themselves.

Since arriving at the Institute, Palmquist's research focus has shifted to terrestrial ecosystems. He is extending his thinking to the emergence of complex phenomena in soil ecosystems to address fundamental questions of sustainable agriculture.

The Weintraub Award is named for Harold M. Weintraub, a molecular biologist who co-founded the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutch and is best known for his work to identify genes tied to cell differentiation. The award has been presented to 339 graduate students since it was established in 2000.