Ian Wilson
Ian Wilson. Credit: Scripps Research

Ian A. Wilson, PhD, the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology at Scripps Research, has been named one of three structural biologists to be the first recipients of Emory University’s annual Max Cooper Prize in Immunology. The award recognizes pioneering research that leads to novel disease treatments and scientific understanding of the immune system.

The prize is named after Max D. Cooper, PhD, a renowned immunologist at Emory who has more than six decades leading groundbreaking research. His discoveries have shaped research around the adaptive immune system as it relates to treating human disease. In 2019, Cooper was awarded the prestigious Lasker Award for his contributions to the field of modern immunology.

Wilson and his colleagues conduct closely related research in structure biology—the study of three-dimensional structures of living molecules using X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and other similar methods. Wilson was selected for expanding our molecular understanding of how antibodies bind to and interact with key targets on pathogens. This fundamental research is critical to developing future vaccines and therapies to address critical illnesses across immunology.

“I am thrilled and deeply honored to have been awarded this prize with Pamela and Chris,” says Wilson. “It is especially poignant that it is named for Max Cooper, whose watershed discoveries changed the field of immunology and opened up new horizons to investigate and understand the beauty, complexity, and origins of the immune system.”

The $100,000 award will be divided equally among the three winners, who include Pamela J. Bjorkman, PhD, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena; and K. Christopher Garcia, PhD, of Stanford University. The three will be honored at The Cooper Prize Symposium on Thursday, September 12, 2024, on Emory University.