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华人学者陈志坚获美国科学院分子生物学奖

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<p align="center"><img src="http://www.bioon.com/trends/UploadFiles/201204/20120419105634966.gif" alt="NAS Award in Molecular Biology" border="0" /> </p>

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祖籍福建的美国华裔科学家陈志坚博士由于在分子生物学上做出的突出贡献,日前被美国国家科学院授予2012年度分子生物学奖。

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这是陈志坚继获得2005年度美国海克曼(Norman Hackerman)化学奖、2007年度美国德克萨斯医学、工程和科学院颁发的德克萨斯研究最高奖——杜奈尔(Edith and Peter O Donell)奖之后,再次获得美国科学界大奖。该奖自从1962年以来,共发给60名科学家。其中14名获得诺贝尔奖。

陈志坚是次获奖不仅为他自己,也为祖籍国及其家乡福建安溪县又一次赢得了荣誉。

陈志坚1985年毕业于福建师范大学生物系,1986年又考取了美国纽约州立大学攻读博士,5年后获得纽约州立大学生物化学博士学位。从1997年起,陈志坚在美国拥有5位诺贝尔奖获得者的德克萨斯大学西南医学中心先后担任分子生物学系助理教授、副教授、终身教授。2005年,陈志坚成为美国霍华德?休斯医学研究所的研究员。该研究所是一家为全美最优秀的生命科学家提供资助的富有卓越声望的非盈利型研究机构,聚集了美国生命科学及其相关交叉学科领域最活跃、最富创新能力、最高水平的研究力量。目前该研究所的研究员中,有15位获得诺贝尔奖,有140多位是美国国家科学院院士。 

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<td valign="top">Zhijian "James" Chen, Ph.D.</td>
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Raised in a remote village in southern China, Zhijian "James" Chen earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Fujian Normal University before he ever saw snow. Then he won an overseas scholarship by placing first on a biochemistry exam. Chen used it for graduate studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a Ph.D. and made up for his early years of snow deprivation.

Now, after spending some time in industry, he has returned to academia at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. There he studies ubiquitin, a small protein that, until recently, was thought to have only one molecular function—to tag other proteins for destruction by the cell's proteasome, a structure that acts as a garbage disposal for unwanted proteins.

Chen has uncovered an unexpected second function for ubiquitin. In the course of studying the NF-κB pathway—a central player in immune and inflammatory responses—he found that ubiquitin also activates protein kinases and is central to cytokine signaling, innate immunity, and adaptive immunity. Chen has identified the role of a number of components of the NF-κB cascade in connection with ubiquitin activity. Since that initial discovery, Chen has sought to understand the mechanisms and pathways of ubiquitin signaling, especially in regard to immunity and cancer.

Accumulating evidence strongly suggests that NF-κB activation by some members of the epidermal growth factor receptor family plays a crucial role in the development of human cancers, such as breast cancer. However, the mechanism by which these growth factor pathways activate NF-κB is poorly understood. Chen hopes to fill in the gaps in the understanding of NF-κB activation for both T cell receptor and growth factor receptor pathways. These studies have the potential to extend the role of ubiquitin signaling beyond inflammation and immunity, into the realm of growth control and cancer.

Chen has contributed to proteasome research and drug development, as well. While at ProScript Inc., a biotech company born in a basement in Boston's Kendall Square (now part of Millennium Pharmaceuticals), he developed assays to identify and optimize the proteasome inhibitor Velcade, a drug approved in 2003 by the Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple myeloma.

Chen's three years at ProScript enabled him to do molecular biology and work on drug development. Once the company grew and became more focused on product development, he realized the basic science questions excited him most, so he returned to academia. He says the academic freedom, intellectual diversity, and exposure to different areas of biology at the University of Texas Southwestern are perfect for him. And, he adds, he got his fill of snow in Buffalo and Boston.

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<em>Dr. Chen is also Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.</em>

<br/><strong>NAS Award in Molecular Biology</strong><br/>

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Awarded for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States.
<h3>Recipients:</h3>
Zhijian (James) Chen (2012)
For his creative use of elegant biochemistry both in elucidating an unsuspected role for polyubiquitin in a kinase signaling cascade important for cancer and immunity and in discovering a novel link between innate immunity and a mitochondrial membrane protein that forms prion-like polymers to trigger antiviral responses.

James M. Berger (2011)
For elucidating the structures of topoisomerases and helicases and providing insights into the biochemical mechanisms that mediate the replication and transcription of DNA.

Jeannie T. Lee (2010)
By using X-chromosome inactivation as a model system, Lee has made unique contributions to our understanding of epigenetic regulation on a global scale, including the role of long, non-coding RNAs, interchromosomal interactions, and nuclear compartmentalization.

Stephen P. Bell (2009)
For groundbreaking studies illuminating the mechanisms of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells.

Angelika Amon (2008)
For groundbreaking studies that have provided insight into the mechanism of the central process of chromosome segregation and the regulation of segregation.

Gregory J. Hannon (2007)
For elucidation of the enzymatic engine for RNA interference.

Ronald R. Breaker and Tina M. Henkin (2006)
For establishing a new mode of regulation of gene expression in which metabolites regulate the activity of their cognate pathways by directly binding to mRNA.

David Bartel (2005)
For his discoveries on the repertoire of catalytic RNA and the analysis of micro RNA genes and their targets.

Xiaodong Wang (2004)
For his biochemical studies of apoptosis which have resolved a molecular pathway leading in and out of the mitochondrion.

Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello (2003)
For inventing methods to inactivate genes by RNA interference and helping to elucidate their underlying mechanism and biological function.

Stephen J. Elledge (2002)
For his innovative contributions at the forefront of the field of cell cycle checkpoints and his elucidation of pathways and mechanisms involved in DNA damage responses.

Erin K. O'Shea (2001)
For contributions to our understanding of signal transduction, regulation of protein movement into and out of the nucleus, and how phosphorylation controls protein activity.

Patrick O. Brown (2000)
For his intellectual leadership in functional genomics, most notably the development of a reliable and accessible DNA microarray system to measure genome-wide gene expression.

Clifford J. Tabin (1999)
For his contributions in analyzing genes that establish asymmetric body patterns and control limb development in vertebrates.

Philip Beachy (1998)
For his studies of a developmental morphogen, its processing and structure, and its covalent attachment to cholesterol.

Richard H. Scheller and Thomas C. Südhof (1997)
For their performance of elegant experiments to resolve the molecular components responsible for controlling neurotransmitter vesicle release and chemical communication within the nervous system.

Michael S. Levine (1996)
For his insightful contributions to our understanding of gene regulation networks and molecular mechanisms governing the development of organisms with a segmented body plan.

Daniel E. Gottschling (1995)
For his elucidation, by experiments elegant in their simplicity, of the relationship between the ends of yeast chromosomes and transcriptional silencing.

Gerald F. Joyce and Jack W. Szostak (1994)
For independently developing in vitro evolution of RNA catalysts. Their work produced RNA enzymes with novel specificities, while illuminating our view of natural selection.

Peter S. Kim (1993)
For his pathfinding research in structural biology, which has elucidated both the pathway of protein folding and mechanisms of macromolecular recognition.

Bruce S. Baker and Thomas W. Cline (1992)
For their creative use of genetics and molecular biology to define how sex is determined in Drosophila. Their experiments have shown how the ratio of sex chromosomes to autosomes can initiate a novel regulatory pathway involving RNA processing.

Steven L. McKnight and Robert Tjian (1991)
For advancing our understanding of transcriptional regulation by devising novel strategies and applying elegant biochemistry to reveal fundamental mechanisms underlying gene expression and development.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn (1990)
For her discovery of the nature of DNA at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and the enzyme that is necessary to complete chromosomal replication.

Kiyoshi Mizuuchi (1989)
For bringing about remarkable advances in our understanding of transposition and other forms of genetic recombination.

H. Robert Horvitz (1988)
For significant contributions to the genetic analysis of the development of cell lineages in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Thomas R. Cech (1987)
For the astonishing discovery of RNA-catalyzed self-splicing of introns and the analysis of the chemistry of RNA-catalyzed reactions.

Robert G. Roeder (1986)
For his pioneering studies of eukaryotic RNA polymerases and the factors that regulate their activity.

Gerald M. Rubin and Allan C. Spradling (1985)
For adding a new dimension to eukaryotic genetics and developmental biology by developing a method to introduce and stably integrate cloned genes into the germ cells of living Drosophila.

Geoffrey M. Cooper and Robert A. Weinberg (1984)
For the identification and characterization of cellular oncogenes of human and animal tumors, thereby providing seminal insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

James C. Wang (1983)
For his ingenious studies of the topological properties of the DNA double helix and his discovery of the important class of enzymes know as DNA topoisomerases.

Joan A. Steitz (1982)
For contributing to our understanding how RNA molecules are recognized by enzymes and discovering the roles played by small ribonucleoprotein molecules in RNA processing.

Ronald W. Davis and Gerald R. Fink (1981)
For their outstanding contributions to the molecular biology of the simple eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both have opened vistas of genetic analysis by the development of new methods, in particular, the development and utilization of molecular cloning in yeast.

Phillip A. Sharp (1980)
For his pioneering and continuing contributions to our understanding of messenger RNA biogenesis in mammalian cells.

Mark Ptashne (1979)
For his outstanding contributions to our understanding of gene regulation through the studies of the virus Lambda.

Günter Blobel (1978)
For elucidating mechanisms of passage of secreted proteins into and across membranes.

Aaron J. Shatkin (1977)
For his contributions to the understanding of eukaryotic, viral, and cellular messenger RNAs.

Daniel Nathans (1976)
For his innovative use of molecular and cell biological tools to analyze the genome of an oncogenic virus.

Bruce Alberts (1975)
For the isolation of proteins required for DNA replication and genetic recombination and the elucidation of how they interact with DNA.

David Baltimore (1974)
For his distinguished leadership in virus research, and for his discoveries on the reproduction and enzymology of RNA viruses that has greatly advanced the science of molecular biology.

Donald D. Brown (1973)
For his studies of the structure, regulation, and evolution of genes in animals, particularly the genes specifying ribosomal RNA in Xenopus and silk fibroin in Bombix.

Howard M. Temin (1972)
For his work leading to the discovery of reverse transcription.

Masayasu Nomura (1971)
For his studies on the structure and function of ribosomes and their molecular components.

A. Dale Kaiser (1970)
For his discovery that pure phage lambda DNA can infect susceptible bacterial cells and produce progeny, and for the effect of this discovery on the whole field of bacterial virus genetics.

William B. Wood, III (1969)
For his genetic dissection of the mechanism of assembly of the bacterial virus particle and reconstruction of the virus in vitro.

Walter Gilbert (1968)
For his signal contribution to understanding of the regulatory mechanisms operative in genetic control of protein synthesis.

Robert W. Holley (1967)
For his elucidation of the full sequence of nucleotides in the molecule of a soluble RNA.

Norton D. Zinder (1966)
For his discovery of RNA bacteriophages, a new class of bacteria-attacking viruses, which have provided researchers with a highly valuable and convenient method of studying fundamental processes in all living cells.

Robert Stuart Edgar (1965)
For his development and application of the method of "conditional lethal mutants" for the analysis of the genetic control of morpho-genesis at the molecular level.

Charles Yanofsky (1964)
For his achievements in demonstrating how changes in the gene produce changes in the way protein is made in the body.

M. S. Meselson (1963)
For his leading role in developing and applying methods to measure the transmission of genetic information in the cell.

Marshall Nirenberg (1962)
For his studies of the molecular mechanisms for the biosynthesis of protein.
<div> <br/>来源:中国新闻网</div></td>
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