#  OEB History 

 



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###  OEB History 

   ![Charles Darwin's sketch of the tree of life from 1837](/sites/g/files/omnuum6811/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/oeb/files/darwintree.jpg?itok=2G9i68qU) 

 

From our perspective in OEB, a key result of our history is that we are stewards of world-renowned biodiversity collections and that OEB is the primary intellectual home of those core disciplines within the Life Sciences, whose aim it is to describe patterns of biological diversity, to discover the processes which produce and maintain this diversity, and to understand the role of biological diversity in the resilience of ecosystems.

From its beginnings, the Department of Biology remained intact as one large department until 1967 when the Biology faculty voted to create a new Department called Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB). The creation of BMB initiated the first split in the Harvard Department of Biology.

In February 1971, Biology faculty again voted to set up two committees within the department: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) and Cellular and Developmental Biology (CDB). During the years following 1971, the OEB and CDB groups became increasingly distinct, establishing their own graduate programs and making their own faculty appointments (faculty appointments in Biology for curators in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) began during this time). By 1982, the two committees officially split, creating two departments.

In 1994, BMB and CDB combined to form the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), from which Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB) split off in 2011. Within OEB, the MCZ model of faculty-curators was soon adopted by the Harvard University Herbaria. And, recently, the Arnold Arboretum successfully embraced this same tradition in 2011.

OEB has close ties with the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Arnold Arboretum. Today, roughly half of the faculty in OEB have their appointments through these institutions and are curators in one or the other of these allied institutions. OEB also maintains important ties to a number of other academic units at Harvard, including the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), the Department of MCB, the Center for Brain Science (CBS), the FAS Center for Systems Biology (Systems), the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the departments of Physics and Mathematics. Specifically, close to half of the OEB faculty are also faculty members in these other departments or centers.

Our faculty and researchers discover patterns of diversity, then explore their full complexity using a variety of leading-edge techniques. We develop predictive models of biology, for both application and understanding. Whether addressing genetics and development, or the functioning of whole organisms in complex ecological communities, we take Dobzhansky’s maxim seriously: Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.

###### *Above Image: Charles Darwin's sketch from 1837 captured how organisms evolve. Illustrating the relationships of common ancestors, Darwin rendered branching forms to model life's expanding diversity.*



 

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##  Notable Awards 

 





###    2026  expand\_more  

- **2026 -** **Pardis Sabeti** elected Member of the National Academy of Science (NAS).
- **2026 - Bence Ölveczky** co-awarded the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative Autism Rat Models Consortium 2.0 Award.
- **2026 - Michael Desai** awarded ERC Synergy Grant from the European Research Council.
- **2026 - David Haig** named Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the Australian Government.
- **2026 - L. Mahadevan** elected Member of the National Academy of Science (NAS).
- **2026** **-** **Pardis Sabeti** co-awarded the MacArthur Foundation $100 Million grant.

 

 



###    2025  expand\_more  

 

- **2025 -** **Mandë Holford** elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
- **2025 -Benton Taylor** elected Early Career Fellow to the Ecological Society of America.
- **2025 - George Lauder** awarded the Star Friedman Challenge for Promising Scientific Research.
- **2025 - Javier Orgeta-Hern****á****ndez** awarded the Dean's Competitive Fund for Promising Scholarship.
- **2025 - Naomi Pierce** awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Society for the Study of Evolution.



 

 

 



###    2024  expand\_more  

 

- **2024 -** **Daniel L. Hartl** awarded the Mendel Memorial Medal jointly awarded by the Moravian Museum and the Mendelianum in Brno, The Czech Republic.
- **2024 - L. Mahadevan** awarded the Weldon Memorial Prize and Medal from Oxford University.
- **2024 - Brian Farrell** awarded the Lemann Research Fund Award in collaboration with Paulino Ribeiro (Museum of Comparative Zoology) and Sangil Kim (Seoul National University).
- **2024 - Stephanie Pierce** awarded the Star-Friedman Challenge for Promising Scientific Research.
- **2024 - Andrew Knoll** awarded the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America.
- **2024 - Scott Edwards** awarded the Presidents' Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Society of Systematic Biologists.



 

 

 



###    2023  expand\_more  

 

- **2023 -** **Peter Girguis** recipient of the Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration jointly sponsored by the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT).
- **2023 - Gonzalo Giribet** elected Académico Extranjero (Foreign Member) to the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España (the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences).
- **2023 - Mansi Srivastava** recipient of the Rosyln Abramson Award
- **2023 - Hopi Hoekstra** appointed Jianming Yu Arts & Sciences Professorship
- **2023 - Naomi Pierce** elected member to The National Academy of Sciences
- **2023 - L. Mahadevan** elected fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- **2023 - Peter Girguis** elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology



 

 

 



###    2022  expand\_more  

 

- **2022 - Hopi Hoekstra** recipient of The Lowel Thomas Award from the Explorer's Club
- **2022 - Scott V. Edwards** elected as member of the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Sweden
- **2022 - William (Ned) Friedman** awarded The Garden Club of America's Medal of Honor
- **2022 - Andrew H. Knoll** awarded the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences



 

 

 



###    2021  expand\_more  

 

**2021** - **Hopi Hoekstra** elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)  
**2021 - Colleen Cavanaugh** elected to Sigma Xi  
**2021** - **Cassandra Extavour** named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator  
**2021** - Society for Developmental Biology Elizabeth D. Hay New Investigator Award to **Mansi Srivastava**  
**2021 -** American Society of Naturalists Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award to **Benton Taylor**  
**2021 -** Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research Award to **Andrew Davies**  
**2021 - L. Mahadevan** named Simons Foundation Investigator



 

 

 



###    2020s  expand\_more  

 

**2020 - Pardis Sabeti** elected member of the National Academy of Medicine  
**2020 -** Petra Shattuck Excellence in Teaching awarded to **Peter Girguis**  
**2020 - Pardis Sabeti** and partner Christian Happi (Redeemer's University, Nigeria) awarded TED's Audacious Project funding.  
**2020 -** Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Graduate Mentoring awarded to **Robin Hopkins**  
**2020 - Cassandra Extavour** named Harvard College Professor  
**2020 - Scott Edwards** elected member of the American Philosophical Society  
**2020 -** Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation "Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative" Investigative Award to **Peter Girguis**  
**2020 -** Inaugural Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Award to **Scott Edwards** and colleague Dr. Richard Kliman (Cedar Crest College)  
**2020** - Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research Award to **Benton Taylor**



 

 

 



###    2010s  expand\_more  

 

**2019 -** Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching awarded to **Stephanie Pierce**   
**2019 - Andrew Biewener** named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)  
**2019 -** 35th International Prize for Biology to **Naomi Pierce**  
**2019 -** C. Hart Merriam Award to **Hopi Hoekstra** by the American Society of Mammalogists  
**2019 -** Merck Future Insight Prize to **Pardis Sabeti**  
**2019 -** Molecular Ecology Prize awarded to **Scott Edwards**  
**2019 -** The Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal awarded to **Daniel Hartl** by the Genetics Society of America  
**2019** - The Distinguished Mycologist Award of the Mycological Society of America to **Don Pfister**   
**2019 -** The William F. Milton Fund awarded to **Javier Ortega-Hernández** and Rudy Lerosey-Aubril (Research Associate, Ortega-Hernández lab)   
**2018** - The Plenary Nelson Lifetime Award to **George Lauder** at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists  
**2018** - The 34th International Prize for Biology of Japan Society to **Andrew Knoll** in the field of Paleontology  
**2018** - **Hopi Hoekstra** elected member of the American Philosophical Society  
**2018** - **Naomi Pierce** elected Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences  
**2018** - Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research Award to **Colleen Cavanaugh** and Karine Gibbs (MCB) for their joint research  
**2018** - Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research Award to **Peter Girguis** with Aspen Reese, Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows  
**2018** - Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement to **James J. McCarthy**  
**2017** - Honorable Doctorate from University of Copenhagen to **Gonzalo Giribet**  
**2017** - Doctor of Science *honoris causa* from Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History to **Andrew Knoll**  
**2017** - **Hopi Hoekstra** elected Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences  
**2017** - Reed Environmental Writing Award to **E.O. Wilson**  
**2017** - NSF CAREER Award to **Mansi Srivastava**  
**2017** - Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal to **Richard Lewontin**  
**2017** - Richard Lounsbery Prize to **Pardis Sabeti**  
**2016** - Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research to **Mansi Srivastava**  
**2016** - Humane Society of New York Humane Medal to **E.O. Wilson**  
**2016** - Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching to **Elena Kramer**  
**2016** - Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching to **Martin Nowak**  
**2016 -** **Hopi Hoekstra** elected to National Academy of Sciences  
**2016 -** **L. Mahadevan** elected as Fellow of Royal Society  
**2016-** **Mansi Srivastava** named Searle Scholar  
**2016-** Guggenheim Fellow Award to **Gonzalo Giribet**  
**2016-** Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research Award to **Bence Ölveczky**  
**2015**- Elliot Coues Award to **Scott V. Edwards**  
**2015**- **Scott V. Edwards** elected member of U.S. National Academy of Sciences  
**2015-** Simons Investigators Award in Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems to **Michael Desai**  
**2015-** The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Crafoord Prize in Biosciences to Prof. Emeritus, **Richard Lewontin**  
**2015-** **Andrew Knoll** elected as Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society  
**2015-** National Academy of Sciences Richard Lounsbery Award to **Hopi Hoekstra**  
**2014-** The Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Neuroscience to **Benjamin de Bivort**  
**2014-** **Pardis Sabeti** named Time Magazine Person of the Year for Ebola Research  
**2013-** **Andrew Knoll** elected Foreign Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India  
**2013-** National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal to **E.O. Wilson**  
**2012-** President Barack Obama appointed **James J. McCarthy** to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission  
**2012-** Estela Medrano Award of the Pan American Society for Pigment Cell Research to **Hopi Hoekstra**  
**2012-** **Jonathan Losos** elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences  
**2012-** The World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Award to **Pardis Sabeti**  
**2012-** International Cosmos Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**  
**2012-** Mary Clark Thompson Medal to **Andrew Knoll**  
**2012-** Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal to **Jonathan Losos**  
**2011-** Romer-Simpson Medal to **A.W. Crompton**  
**2011-** Fannie Cox Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching to **Hopi Hoekstra**  
**2011-** Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship to **Michael Desai**  
**2010-** BBVA Foundation's Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology to **E.O. Wilson**  
**2010-** **Daniel Hartl** named Honorary Academy Fellow of The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore  
**2010-** **David Haig** inducted into The American Academy of Arts and Sciences  
**2010-** Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar Award in Aging to **Cassandra Extavour**



 

 

 



###    2000s  expand\_more  

 

 **2009-** Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award to **E.O. Wilson**  
**2009-** MacArthur Foundation 'genius' grant to **L. Mahadevan**  
**2009-** NIH Director's New Innovator Award to **Pardis Sabeti**  
**2009-** Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year to **James McCarthy**  
**2009-** Romer-Simpson Medal to **Farish Jenkins**  
**2009- Scott Edwards** elected as fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences   
**2008-** Merck Award to **Yun Zhang**  
**2008-** Walker Prize from the Boston Museum of Science to **James McCarthy**  
**2008-** Darwin-Wallace Medal to **Stephen Jay Gould** (posthumously)  
**2008 -** William H. Weston Award for Teaching Excellence from the Mycological Society of America awarded to **Donald Pfister**  
**2007-** United Nations IPCC working group, among delegation honored at laureate Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to **James McCarthy**, IPCC co-chair  
**2007-** Geological Society of London Wollaston Medal to **Andrew Knoll**  
**2007-** Japan Prize awarded to **Peter Shaw Ashton**  
**2001-** Nierenberg Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**  
**2000-** Kistler Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**



 

 

 



###    1990s  expand\_more  

 

**1994-** Sewall Wright Award to **Richard Lewontin**  
**1993-** The 9th International Prize for Biology of Japan Society to **Edward O. Wilson** in the field of Ecology  
**1992-** Homer Smith Medal to **Stephen J. Gould**  
**1992-** Gold Medal for Service to Zoology to **Stephen J. Gould**  
**1991-** Pulitzer Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**  
**1990-** The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Crafoord Prize in Biosciences to **Edward O. Wilson**  
**1990-** Edinburgh Medal to **Stephen J. Gould**  
**1990-** Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science to **Stephen J. Gould**



 

 

 



###    1980s  expand\_more  

 

 **1989-** T.N. George Medal to **Stephen J. Gould**  
****1987-**** Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal to **Andrew H. Knoll**  
**1984-** Silver Medal to **Stephen J. Gould**  
**1983-** Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science to **Stephen J. Gould**  
**1983-** J. Priestley Award and Medal to **Stephen J. Gould**



 

 

 



###    1970s  expand\_more  

 

**1979-** Leidy Award to **Edward O. Wilson**   
**1979-** Pulitzer Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**



 

 

 



###    1960s  expand\_more  

 

 **1967-** Newcomb Cleveland Prize to **Edward O. Wilson**