Newswise — Two scientists whose research discoveries shifted the ground rules in their respective fields were named winners today of the 2004 "Women In Cell Biology Senior and Junior Career Awards" by the American Society for Cell Biology. Susan Lindquist of the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will receive the 2004 WICB Senior Career Recognition Award and Inke Näthke of the University of Dundee, Scotland, will receive the WICB Junior Career Achievement Award at the Society's 44th Annual Meeting December 6 in Washington, DC.
Lindquist, who became the Director of the Whitehead Institute in 2001 after 23 years on the faculty at the University of Chicago, is known internationally as a pioneer in protein conformation, particularly of abnormally folded proteins called prions that are increasingly linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob. According to Rockefeller University cell biologist Elaine Fuchs, "Susan Lindquist's focus on protein folding mechanisms has led to paradigm-shifting discoveries in stress tolerance, gene regulation, evolution, and human protein folding disease."
The Senior WICB Career award is given each year to "a woman or a man whose outstanding scientific achievements are coupled with a long-standing record of support for women in science." According to Fuchs, Lindquist is not only an exceptional scientist but as Director of the Whitehead holds a pivotal leadership position in international science. Says Fuchs, "Susan Lindquist stands virtually alone at this high level of responsibility among American women scientists."
Inke Näthe's career got off to a controversial start with her original hypothesis linking mutations in a protein called APC (adenomatous polyposis coli), which are found in 85 percent of all cases of human colorectal cancer, with an unsuspected defect in cell motility. "It was brave and original research to discover new functions for this protein, especially when a strong consensus had emerged of its role as a regulator of catenins (proteins that control growth factor production)," says Sir David Lane, Näthe's colleague at the University of Dundee. "Dr. Näthke has established beyond doubt that the protein has other key roles in the control of mitosis and genetic stability. Moreover, she has enthusiastically pursued the medical implications of her work in treating colorectal cancer."
A native of Germany, Näthke began medical studies at the University of Hamburg but finished her undergraduate work in biochemistry at San Jose State University. She did her PhD at the University of California, San Francisco, and post-doctoral fellowships at Stanford and Harvard Medical School.
With over 11,000 members, the ASCB is the nation's leading voice for research and education in cell biology. The WICB Career awards help fulfill the Society's mandate to "promote and develop the careers of historically under-represented constituencies in biomedical research, including minorities and women." The Society's Annual Meeting, which is widely considered to be the world's most influential annual conference in cell biology, will run from December 4-8, 2004 in the Washington DC Convention Center.
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