UW–Madison biochemist Amy Weeks named Packard Fellow

UW–Madison biochemist Amy Weeks named Packard Fellow

Amy Weeks

Amy Weeks

Amy Weeks, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of biochemistry, has been selected as a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering.

The fellowship is awarded annually to early-career scientists from across the United States and provides $875,000 of funding over five years. Weeks is one of 20 members chosen for the honor by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for the 2021 class.

A researcher who studies the proteome, a set of proteins encoded in the genes present in a cell at any given time, Weeks finds parallels between her love of long-distance running and her research.

“In both running and, in my research, I’ve learned the value of focusing on process over outcome,” Weeks says. “In running, you have to put in the training and that doesn’t necessarily mean you will hit a specific race time, but the process is worth it. That is also true in science, in that we focus on doing the right experiments with the goal of figuring out what is true.”

And it’s that race of discovering truth — for Weeks, the process of using enzymes for mapping biological signals across space and time in living cells — that has led her to a very big win.

Weeks will use the funds to support the people in her lab and to make sure they have the tools they need to execute their ideas. Weeks employs five graduate students who are working with her to provide an integrated view of cellular signaling to advance biological discovery, with potential therapeutic implications.

Read More