Trailblazing Researcher Maria Jasin, Ph.D., B.S. ’78, Named 2026 Hall of Fame Inductee

Internationally acclaimed and award-winning researcher Maria Jasin, Ph.D., will be inducted into the Florida Atlantic University Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame on April 10, at the 2026 Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony and Reception. The annual event brings together alumni and community members to celebrate the accomplishments of their outstanding peers.

Following her mother's untimely passing from cancer, Jasin’s father relocated his small family—Jasin and her older sister, Joanne—from Detroit to South Florida. Although he did not have a college degree, Jasin’s father deeply valued education and made it a priority for his daughters.

Her interest in science as a child, like many scientists of her generation, was bolstered by the excitement inspired by space exploration. Together, the family watched space walks, moon landings and splashdowns on TV, and she eventually enthusiastically visited the Kennedy Space Center. While growing up, “My sister and I enjoyed the freedom to explore a wide range of academic interests,” shared Jasin, including music, especially piano.

Both sisters earned their undergraduate degrees at Florida Atlantic University—both as Faculty Scholars—which allowed top high school students to join what was then only an upper division university. After also obtaining a master’s degree, Joanne went on to become a professor in the English Department at California State University, Fullerton, and then after tenure there, moved to Florida Atlantic.

Maria received a B.S. in Biology in 1978 from the Biology Department in the College of Science. During her time at FAU, Jasin was honored in 1976 as a Wimberly Scholar, the most prestigious student academic prize given by FAU. She also received a Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship at graduation, which supported her first year of graduate school.

“As an undergraduate learning for the first time about the new and quantitative discipline of molecular biology, I was drawn to biology as my field of study and, ultimately, my life’s work,” recalled Jasin.

She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by postdoctoral positions at both the University of Zurich and Stanford University School of Medicine. In 1990, Jasin became an assistant member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she established her independent laboratory. Subsequently, she was promoted to associate in 1996 and full member and William E. Snee Chair in 2000—a position she still holds today. She is also a Full Professor at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

In her lab, Jasin continues to perform groundbreaking research that sparks life-changing discoveries. Jasin’s research focuses on DNA recombination and the relationship to the maintenance of genomic integrity and cancer, targeted genome modification and meiosis. Innovations from her laboratory include defining how chromosome double-strand breaks are repaired, accomplishing the first “gene editing” experiment, and determining a role for the breast cancer suppressors BRCA1 and BRCA2 in recombination.

“The approach of introducing a double-strand break into the genome to direct its modification, together with the development of programmable nucleases by a number of labs, has led to a revolution in biology and medicine,” said Jasin. “This revolution brings the clear promise of disease cure/amelioration and allows gene editing of organisms across the phylogenetic tree, which is transforming our understanding of biological processes on this earth.”

“Dr. Maria Jasin embodies the pinnacle of what an FAU education in the sciences can ignite. We are proud to see the university recognize her with this Hall of Fame induction,” said Valery Forbes, dean and professor, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “Dr. Jasin’s pioneering research has fundamentally shifted the landscape of science and medicine. Her journey from our classrooms to the global stage stands as a beacon of inspiration for our recent graduates and the next generation of scientists who walk our halls today.”

Over the course of her stellar career, Jasin has received numerous awards and accolades. Among them are:

• 1978-79 Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship
• 1985-87 Stanford University: Fellow of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund
• At the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:
  • 1990-93 Frederick R. Adler Chair for Junior Faculty
  • 1991-93 Beckman Young Investigator
  • 1992-95 Pew Biomedical Scholar
  • 2000-present William E. Snee Chair
• 2019 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine
• 2019 Crain’s List of Notable Women in Health Care
• 2020 Recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s Outstanding Investigator Award
• 2020 Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy
• 2020 Member of the American Philosophical Society
• 2022 Breast Cancer Research Foundation Jill Rose Award for Scientific Excellence
• 2025 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

In 2015, Jasin was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, USA, then in 2016 to the National Academy of Medicine, USA, and in 2017 to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She has also been an investigator at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation since 2017.

Read more about the 2026 Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni ceremony.