Mohammad Seyedsayamdost ’01, MS’01 wins MacArthur Fellowship

Mohammed Seyedsayamdost '01Photo/MacArthur Foundation

Mohammad Seyedsayamdost ’01, MS’01, a biological chemist who explores how bacteria communicate and interact with other organisms, has received a MacArthur Fellowship, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors. It carries $625,000 in unrestricted grants over a five-year period.

The fellowships, popularly known as “genius grants,” are awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown extraordinary originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.

MacArthur Fellows are nominated anonymously by leaders in their respective fields and considered by an anonymous selection committee.

Seyedsayamdost was honored for his work on the biosynthesis of novel molecules with therapeutic properties, and for promoting the discovery of new antibiotics. 

He majored in biochemistry at Brandeis and graduated with highest honors.

"Mo was a terrific student, and it's been a great pleasure to follow his post-Brandeis career, one breakthrough after another, accomplished with grace and humility," said Brandeis biology and chemistry professor Lizbeth Hedstrom, who worked with Seyedsayamdost in her lab. "His work addresses the very real threats of MRSA and other resistant bacteria with creative strategies to discover new antibiotics. MacArthur has made a fantastic choice."

After earning his PhD in 2008 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Seyedsayamdost worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. 

He joined the faculty at Princeton’s department of chemistry in 2013.

Categories: Alumni, General, Research, Science and Technology

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