Investigator Paul Trainor, PhD, has been named the recipient of the 2021 David Bixler Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Craniofacial Genetics and Developmental Biology (SCGDB). The award is named after the first president of the SCGDB and is the Society’s highest honor. It was created to recognize long-term distinguished leadership and meritorious contributions to the craniofacial sciences by a senior level SCGDB member.

Trainor joined the Stowers Institute in 2001. His research focuses on understanding neural crest cells and craniofacial development, concentrating on mechanisms that regulate neural crest cell formation, migration, and differentiation. He was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Dynamics in 2017 and named a fellow of the American Association of Anatomists in 2018. During his four-year tenure at SCGDB, which began in 2012, his efforts helped improve the annual meetings and broaden the SCGDB community. Trainor will receive a commemorative plaque and deliver a plenary lecture on his research at the 44th Annual SCGDB Meeting in October.