MCB Professor Andrew Murray has been elected as an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), a distinction that honors more than 2,100 leading scientists from around the world for outstanding research and their engagement with the European scientific community.
The prestigious EMBO membership acknowledges Murray’s long-standing contributions to genetics and cell biology, as well as his efforts to build meaningful scientific ties between the United States and Europe.
“I’m delighted that Andrew’s many outstanding contributions to the fields of genetics and cell biology are being recognized by his election as an EMBO Associate Member,” said MCB Chair Rachelle Gaudet. “This is a richly deserved accolade, as Andrew’s research and academic leadership have profoundly influenced many scientists locally and around the world.”
MCB Professor Sean Eddy also warmly congratulates Murray on the recognition. “Andrew is one of the world’s great scientists – smart, wise, humane, generous, and irreverent. One of the main reasons I came to Harvard was to be in the same place as him, and I’m really happy to see Andrew get this well-deserved honor.”
For Murray, who was born and raised in Britain, the honor carries personal significance.
“It means a lot to me because I was born in Britain and grew up there,” Murray said. “I’m very fond of European science, and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has played a huge role in making European science a collective activity across the continent. It is a real reward to be recognized by them.”
EMBO Associate Membership is granted to scientists working outside of Europe who have made exceptional contributions to the life sciences and have engaged with the European scientific community. Murray’s own scientific journey has long reflected that international outlook.
“EMBO values a combination of two things for scientists outside of Europe—the contribution that people’s science has made to understanding how the universe works, and also their interaction with European scientists,” Murray said. “I have had many projects over the years that involved interacting with European research institutes.” As examples, Murray has served on the advisory boards of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), among others. He also maintains an active research collaboration with a former postdoctoral fellow now based at the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine in Portugal, focused on understanding how cells evolve the molecular machinery that enables them to divide.
“Science is the archetypal global village,” Murray said. “Science in Europe has a long and distinguished continuing record of contributing to global advances. I think it’s really critical that we have strong interactions with European science.”
As a mentor and advocate for international collaboration, Murray often encourages students and postdocs to pursue research opportunities abroad. “I am always urging graduating PhD students to do post-doctoral research in Europe rather than the US—I’m a great believer in building bridges between science done in different countries,” he said. “I think in some small way it contributes to people recognizing that underneath our national identities we are all human: the most important characteristic we all share.”
Murray’s research combines theory and experiment to explore how cells control their behavior and how those behaviors evolve. Much of his work uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast) as a model system to investigate the mechanisms of chromosome segregation, cell cycle progression, and the evolutionary dynamics that shape biological systems. By engineering cells in the lab and applying principles from physics, biology, and mathematics, his team seeks to understand both how cellular processes work and how they could be different under evolutionary pressures.
For Murray, the election is not only a professional milestone but also a celebration of science as a shared global endeavor. “This kind of recognition reminds me how international science is—and how important it is to nurture those international ties,” he said.
As he continues to push forward on questions of cellular evolution and the fundamental mechanisms of life, Murray remains committed to fostering an inclusive, collaborative scientific community across borders.
“Building bridges in science helps build bridges between people,” he said. “That’s something I’ll always believe in.”
