Farooq Azam (born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

) is a researcher in the field of marine microbiology. He is a

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at the

University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...

. Farooq Azam grew up in Lahore and received his early education in Lahore. He attended

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

, where he received his B.Sc in Chemistry. He later he received his M.Sc from the same institution. He then went to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

for higher studies. He received his PhD in Microbiology from the

Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...

. After he received his PhD, Farooq Azam moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Azam was the lead author on the paper which coined the term

microbial loop The microbial loop describes a trophic pathway where, in aquatic systems, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is returned to higher trophic levels via its incorporation into bacterial biomass, and then coupled with the classic food chain formed by phy ...

. This 1983 paper involved a synthesis between a number of leaders in the (then) young field of microbial ecology, specifically, Azam, Tom Fenchel, J Field, J Gray, L Meyer-Reil and Tron Frede Thingstad. In addition to introducing the concept of the microbial loop Azam is responsible for bringing conceptual advances in several areas of marine microbiology. He is a leader in identifying the importance of microscale patchiness in the marine environment, and that bacteria can respond to patchiness in nutrient fields and particulate organic matter. This area of research is now pursued more actively in the field at large with the introduction of advanced digital and single cell imaging. He and then graduate student Kay Bidle also showed that the dissolution of diatom frustules was accelerated by bacteria, as opposed to being a strictly abiotic process as previously thought. He and former post-doctoral researcher Alexandra Worden introduced the concept of Eco-systems Biology in 2004. Eco-systems Biology (or Ecosystems Biology) has since been adopted by the field, empowered by the advent of high-throughput sequencing platforms.

Honors and awards

* Elected to the Academia Europaea (European Academy of Science and Letters) 2019 * Elected to the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, 2016
D. C. White Research and Mentoring Award, 2013
* John Martin Award, ASLO, 2006ASLO Award Recipient Talks

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), formerly known as the Limnological Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, is a scientific society established in 1936 with the goal of advan ...

. Accessed September 1, 2010. * G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award (ASLO), 1995G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award

. Accessed September 1, 2010. * Nan-Qiang Forum for Distinguished Scientists Lecture,

Xiamen University Xiamen University (; Southern Min: ''Ē-mn̂g-toā-o̍h''), colloquially known as Xia Da (; Southern Min: ''Hā-tāi''), is a national public research university in Xiamen, Fujian, China. Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese patriotic e ...

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 2006 * Elected Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2004Scripps Oceanography Microbiologist Receives Honors

University of California at San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

news release, June 2, 2004. Accessed September 1, 2004 * Doctor of Philosophy, honoris causa, U. Kalmar, Sweden, 2004 * Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, Scripps, UCSD, 2004 * Tiedje Award,

International Society for Microbial Ecology The International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) is the principal scientific society for the burgeoning field of microbial ecology and its related disciplines. ISME is a non-profit association and is owner of the International Symposia on Mi ...

, 2004 * ISI Highly Cited Researcher, 2002 * C. B. Van Niel Memorial Lecture, Stanford University, 1997Memorial lectures
, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University. Accessed September 1, 2010 * Plymouth Marine Sciences Lecture & Medal, 1996 * Excellence in Research Award, UCSD, 1996 * Eminent Scholars Series Lecturer, U. South Florida, 1995 * G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award (ASLO), 1995G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award

. Accessed September 1, 2010. Award citation: "in recognition of his seminal contributions to our knowledge of fundamental processes in the sea, and particularly for his central role in the development of the concept of the 'microbial loop'". * Honorary Staff Member, Ecology Institute, Germany, 1985 * Rosenstiel Medal in Oceanographic Sciences, 1984 * Steinbach Visiting Scholar,

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it ...

, 1984 * Distinguished Visiting Scholar, SUNY, Stony Brook, 1983 * Antarctic Service Medal of the USA * Faculty of 1000, Present

References

External links

Farooq Azam's webpage at Scripps

Webpage of Farooq Azam's Lab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azam, Farooq Pakistani scholars People from Lahore American Muslims University of California, San Diego faculty University of the Punjab alumni Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani microbiologists Pakistani marine biologists Pakistani expatriate academics Living people American academics of Pakistani descent Pakistani expatriates in Czechoslovakia Year of birth missing (living people)