Suwon, 12 October 2010: The Minister of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Ju-Ho Lee, today awarded the 9th Annual Ebbe Nielsen Prize to Canadian scientist, Dr. Sujeevan Ratnasingham. Ratnasingham won the prize for his groundbreaking work on the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD).

“I am extremely fortunate to work in a country (Canada) that values and recognises the importance of biodiversity research,” said Ratnashingham after receiving the prize.  BOLD is an online workbench that aids collection, management, analysis, and use of DNA barcodes, short genetic markers in an organism's DNA used to identify it as belonging to a particular species.  Using these DNA barcodes, BOLD advances species identification and discovery.  Ratnasingham is based at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where he is also currently Informatics Director.

Ratnasingham will deliver a presentation on his work during a customary address forming part of the GBIF Science Symposium held at the organisation’s Annual Governing Board Meeting currently underway in Suwon, Korea.  

En route to the Award Ceremony, he paid homage to Ebbe Nielsen by visiting the Australia National Insect Collection (ANIC) where Nielsen was appointed Director in 1990 and where his colleagues are currently also feverishly working on barcoding and digitizing insects.  According to Ratnasingham, the team hopes to have completed 25% of the moth and butterfly collection by month end. 

More information on the life of Dr. Ebbe Nielsen, may be found on
http://www.gbif.org/communications/news-and-events/ebbe-nielsen-prize/ebbe-nielsen-obituary/