Dr. Jennifer Fish, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, is the 2025 recipient of the SCGDB Marylou Buyse Distinguished Scientist Award. This award, named after the first female president of the SCGDB, was created to recognize SCGDB members in the middle stage of their careers who have made important contributions to the craniofacial sciences and the Society.  

Jennifer studied at the Max Planck Institute of Cell Biology and Genetics with Prof. Wieland Huttner where she made significant advances in the understanding into the genetic and cellular basis of microcephaly. As a postdoctoral fellow with Michael Depew at King’s College London, and subsequently with Drs. Schneider and Marcucio at UCSF, she initiated fundamental work into genetic variation in jaw and craniofacial proportions that would define novel new directions for the field which is now taught in every developmental biology course on craniofacial developmental biology. Since establishing her own laboratory in 2015, she has overseen a robust research program building on this research program as well as extending mechanistic understanding of SATB2 mediated craniofacial disorders and serving on their advocacy scientific board. Her scholarship is exceptional - her work has been published in high-impact journals and led to consistent funding from the NIH. Further, Dr. Fish has a long history of collegiality within the field, evidenced by her collaborative spirit, and her willingness to share her expertise and reagents.

Jennifer has also made a lasting impact on the field of craniofacial biology with a long history of service within her institution and the broader community. She is the current graduate coordinator for the Department of Biological Sciences at UMass Lowell where she received multiple teaching excellence awards; she served as the Co-Director of Developmental Biology Teaching workshops and co-organizer of the Society for Developmental Biology meetings and special scholarly editions. More broadly, she has served on seven NIH or NSF study sections, including SBDD and various NIDCR special emphasis panels. She has also been proactive in public service as a current member of the SATB2 Gene Foundation Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and the COMBINEDBrain Foundation Scientific Advisory Board. 

Jennifer has been a longtime member of the SCGDB since her fellowship training, and she and her lab members have contributed to the community efforts of SCGDB through meetings, presentations, and scientific discourse. Jennifer has also helped organize Society meetings and actively contributes her time for the Society and its mission.  Jennifer’s scientific actions and scholarship led her to be unanimously voted to be the 2025 Buyse award recipient. Jennifer will receive the Society award and deliver a plenary lecture on her research at the 48th Annual SCGDB Meeting in Minneapolis.