Dr. Jacqueline Webb, Professor Emerita, Department of Biological Sciences, has been awarded the 2025 Joseph S. Nelson Award for Lifetime Achievement in Ichthyology by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Given annually since 2013, the Nelson Award recognizes a member of ASIH for “an outstanding body of work in any area of ichthyology, including, but not limited to: ecology, behavior, life history, genetics, conservation, and systematics.” It is granted principally on the basis of the quality of the awardee’s research but consideration is also given to their educational impact and service record.
Dr. Webb has been working on the development and evolution of fish sensory systems, with a particular focus on the mechanosensory lateral line system — the flow sensing system in all fishes — for over 40 years. Her work is respected internationally. Over the years, her research has been supported by National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation grants. She has authored over 55 peer-reviewed journal papers and invited book chapters, and is continuing to publish and contribute to her professional organizations and communities in various ways despite her retirement.
“This is, without a doubt, the highest honor of my career,” she says. “It is so gratifying to be recognized by my peers and to be in the company of past award recipients who have all been inspirational leaders in their respective sub-disciplines within the field of ichthyology. I am really humbled by this award.”
Dr. Webb graduated from Cornell University in 1979 and earned her Ph.D. from Boston University (Marine Program) in 1988. She completed postdoctoral positions at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Cornell, and Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington prior to her appointments at Villanova University in 1993 and then University of Rhode Island in 2006 where she was Full Professor and directed the URI Marine Program for 18 years. She mentored 3 postdocs, 2 PhD students, 14 MS students, and many undergraduates. She received the College of the Environmental and Life Sciences Research Excellence Award (2020), and the URI Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching (2024). Prior to her retirement from University of Rhode Island (2024) she also held the George and Barbara Young Chair in Biology (as its first recipient) for eight years. In her retirement, Dr. Webb is continuing research on the sensory biology of fishes as an Associate in Ichthyology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University ), a position she has held since 2009.
Dr. Webb has been a member of the century-old American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists for over 40 years, since she was a graduate student. As a PhD student, she received the Edward and Charlotte Raney Award from the Society to support her dissertation research. In 2024, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists bestowed upon her the Robert K. Johnson Award for Excellence in Service. She has also received annual Best Paper in Ichthyology awards (in 2017, 2020, 2022) from Ichthyology and Herpetology, the society’s journal, for papers on the mechanosensory lateral line system and inner ear of fishes.