10 scientists to receive ASBMB awards

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) will present 10 scientists with the following awards at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting April 24-28 in Anaheim, Calif.

Herbert Tabor/Journal of Biological Chemistry Lectureship

6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 24

Phillip A. Sharp of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will give the Herbert Tabor/Journal of Biological Chemistry Lectureship. Sharp studies the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing. His landmark achievement was the discovery of RNA splicing in 1977, for which he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research

11:45 a.m. Monday, April 26

Sarah Keller, an associate professor at the University of Washington whose research focuses on how changes in membrane lipid composition alter the activity of membrane proteins, has been named the winner of the 2010 Avanti Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research. Keller's work has shaped our knowledge of the physical behaviors of cell membranes and their effects on membrane lipid domains and proteins.

Avanti Award in Lipids

2:15 p.m. Sunday, April 25

The 2010 Avanti Award in Lipids will go to David Russell, Eugene McDermott distinguished chair of molecular genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. This award honors outstanding scientists whose research interests are in the field of lipids. "(Russell) has employed imaginative genetic analysis to knock out the individual genes involved and determine the precise role of each enzyme in cholesterol degradation. His basic biochemical and genetic research has contributed significantly to the development of treatments for a number of diseases of cholesterol metabolism," explained Edward A. Dennis, distinguished professor of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, in his nomination letter.

ASBMB Merck Award

2:15 p.m. Monday, April 26

James Wells, professor and chairman of the department pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, has been named the winner of the 2010 ASBMB-Merck Award for his pioneering studies in the field of protein engineering. "Over his career, Wells has made enormous contributions to our understanding of enzyme mechanisms, allostery, protein plasticity, protein-protein interfaces, small molecule discovery, hormone receptor signaling, molecular recognition, protease signaling and apoptosis," wrote Al Burlingame, professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry at UCSF and co-editor of ASBMB's journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.

ASBMB Young Investigator Award

8:30 a.m. Monday, April 26

John Tesmer, a research associate professor at the Life Sciences Institute and the department of pharmacology at the University of Michigan, has been named the winner of the ASBMB Young Investigator Award this year. "John has been a terrific success," wrote his nominator, professor Alan R. Saltiel of the University of Michigan. "He has developed a major reputation as a leading structural biologist, evidenced by his frequent invitations to speak at important meetings and publish review articles in leading journals, and an outstanding record of publications."

ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education

12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 25

The ASBMB Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education will be presented to University of Richmond associate professor of chemistry Lisa Gentile. The annual award is given to a scientist who encourages effective teaching and learning of biochemistry and molecular biology through his or her own teaching, leadership in education, writing, educational research, mentoring or public enlightenment. Currently, Gentile is collaborating with colleagues from five different disciplines to establish a unique course that replaces standard introductory classes in computer science, biology, chemistry, physics and math. Instead of learning the subjects in isolation, students will approach them in an interdisciplinary way.

FASEB Excellence in Science Award

2:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 27

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has named Susan S. Taylor, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and professor of pharmacology at the University of California in San Diego, as the recipient of the FASEB 2010 Excellence in Science Award. The award recognizes women with outstanding career achievements in biological science. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Taylor is regarded by many as the world's expert on cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), the archetype for all the protein kinases.

Fritz Lipmann Lectureship

8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 28

Douglas Rees, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, will give the Fritz Lipmann Lectureship, which recognizes investigators who make conceptual advances in biochemistry, bioenergetics, and molecular biology. Rees' research focuses on structural bioenergetics, which is the description of biological energy transduction processes at a molecular level.

Herbert A. Sober Lectureship

8:30 a.m. Sunday, April 25

Ruedi Aebersold, a pioneer in the field of proteomics who holds a joint appointment as professor of molecular systems biology at ETH-Zürich and the University of Zürich, has been named the recipient of the Herbert A. Sober Lectureship. His nominators point to his development of a series of methods that have found wide application in analytical protein chemistry and proteomics, like a new class of reagents used in quantitative mass spectrometry termed "isotope-coded affinity tag," or ICAT, reagents.

William C. Rose Award

8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 27

Daniel Herschlag, professor of biochemistry, chemistry and chemical engineering at Stanford University, has won this year's William C. Rose Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of younger scientists. Herschlag is most famous for his groundbreaking research on the mechanism and thermodynamics of ribozyme catalysis.

Provided by American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology