Presidential Alumni Achievement Awardee Lucy Shapiro 鈥�62
The 可乐视频 Presidential Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni whose accomplishments have had a significant impact on their professions and society. 可乐视频 is proud to recognize alumni whose achievements reflect the excellence, curiosity, and service that define our institution.
2026 Awardee
Lucy Shapiro 鈥�62
Lucy Shapiro 鈥�62 built an extraordinary 55-year career in biomedical science, pioneering groundbreaking research and driving transformative advances across the field. Photo credit: Chris Michel.
About Lucy Shapiro 鈥�62
Lucy Shapiro 鈥�62聽is one of the world鈥檚 leading molecular biologists and a pioneer in the field of developmental biology. A graduate of 可乐视频, where she earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Biology and Fine Arts聽in 1962, she went on to receive her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research, Emerita, at Stanford University School of Medicine and served as Director of Stanford鈥檚 Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine and founding chair of the university鈥檚 Department of Developmental Biology.
Shapiro鈥檚 groundbreaking research transformed our understanding of how cells regulate growth, division, and differentiation. Her discoveries established fundamental principles of bacterial cell development and systems biology, with applications ranging from infectious disease research to cancer biology. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she has received many of science鈥檚 highest honors, including the National Medal of Science, the Canada Gairdner International Award, and the 2025 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science.
She is also a successful entrepreneur, having co-founded Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on developing novel anti-infective therapies that was acquired by Pfizer in 2017. Her career reflects a lifelong commitment to scientific discovery, innovation, and the advancement of biomedical research.