Farooq Azam (born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) is a researcher in the field of marine

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

. He is a distinguished professor at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

of the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

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

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

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

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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 ph ...

. 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. Accessed September 1, 2010. * G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award (ASLO), 1995G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Accessed September 1, 2010. * Nan-Qiang Forum for Distinguished Scientists Lecture,

Xiamen University Xiamen University (XMU; ) is a public university in Siming, Xiamen, Siming, Xiamen, Fujian, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Pro ...

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

, 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 in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...

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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, 1997Memorial lectures
, Hopkins Marine Station,

. 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
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. 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, 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 Scientists from Lahore Academics 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 Expatriates in Czechoslovakia Year of birth missing (living people)