Steve Farber recognized for science mentorship

Baltimore, MD—This week Carnegie’s Steve Farber will be recognized by New England Biolabs Inc. with its Passion in Science Award in the category of Mentorship and Advocacy. The company, which supplies research tools for sequencing, synthetic biology, and cellular and molecular research, launched the prize in 2014.  

The 12 honorees were chosen for their “innovative work that goes above and beyond the boundaries of pure science to make a profound impact on other fields.”

In announcing the 2019 class, CEO Jim Ellard described them as individuals “who are enriching lives in ways that go well beyond the traditional definition of success for a scientist.”

Farber co-founded a non-profit STEM education program called BioEYES, which gives K-12 students hands-on experience studying the life cycles of zebrafish. Participants learn about genetics and the cardiovascular system. They also bolster their science literacy with first-hand experience asking questions and designing experiments to probe for answers.  

The program, which has reached more than 100,000 kids in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, and Melbourne, Australia, teaches students “how to think and act like scientists,” said New England Biolabs in its description of Farber’s work.

“Through BioEYES, Steve has shared with students around the world the creativity that drew professional biologists like us to pursue advance degrees and research careers,” said Carnegie Embryology Director Yixian Zheng. “Allowing the participants to gain an understanding of what scientists do and how we approach our work has great societal value.”