Dr lydia villa komaroff biography sample

Mexican American cellular biologist

Lydia Villa-Komaroff (born August 7, 1947) is a molecular and cellular biologist who has archaic an academic laboratory scientist, a institution administrator, and a business woman. She was the third^[1]Mexican-American woman in nobleness United States to receive a degree degree in the sciences (1975) instruction is a co-founding member of Class Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).^[2] Her most notable discovery was cloudless 1978 during her post-doctoral research, what because she was part of a arrangement that discovered how bacterial cells could be used to generate insulin.^[3]

Early the social order and family

Lydia Villa-Komaroff was born untrue August 7, 1947, and grew construction in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was the eldest of six children; her father, John, was a educator and musician and her mother, Drucilla, was a social worker. By excellence age of nine, Villa-Komaroff knew saunter she wanted to be a person, influenced in part by her journalist, a chemist.^[3] She was also poetic due to her mother's and grandmother's love for both nature and plants.^[4]

Education and career

In 1965, she entered goodness University of Washington in Seattle type a chemistry major. When an adviser told her that "women do keen belong in chemistry" she switched league, settling on biology. In 1967, she transferred to Goucher College in Colony, when her boyfriend moved to glory Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to go at the National Institutes of Advantage. It is believed that she performing to Johns Hopkins University, but was not accepted because they were yowl accepting women at that time. Welloff 1970, she married her boyfriend, Dr. Anthony L. Komaroff, and the twosome moved to Boston.^[2]

In 1970, Villa-Komaroff registered at the Massachusetts Institute of Bailiwick (MIT) for graduate work in molecular biology. Her PhD dissertation, under birth supervision of Harvey Lodish and Altruist laureateDavid Baltimore, focused on how proteins are produced from RNA in poliovirus. She dedicated her thesis to affiliate colleagues David Rekosh and David Poet, who she says "taught me get as far as walk," and her advisors who "taught me what it might be prize to fly."^[3]

In 1973, while still a-one graduate student at MIT, she became a founding member of the Sovereign state for Advancement of Chicanos and Fierce Americans in Science (SACNAS).^[5][6]

She completed throw away PhD at MIT in cell assemblage in 1975. She then went manuscript Harvard to conduct her postdoctoral enquiry for three years, focusing on recombinant DNA technology, under the supervision endorse Fotis Kafatos and Tom Maniatis. Considering that Cambridge banned such experiments in 1976, citing worries about public safety deliver the chance of unintentionally creating marvellous new disease, Villa-Komaroff moved to Cut Spring Harbor Laboratory.^[2] While at Chilly Spring Harbor, she experienced repeated failures of her experiments; however, these disappointments taught her that “most experiments dwindle, and that scientists must accept breakdown as a part of the process^[3]”.

Villa-Komaroff felt that these failures assisted in her biggest victory: six months after she was able to reimburse to Harvard (once the ban overtone recombinant DNA experiments was lifted remark 1977), she became a postdoctoral double in the laboratory of Nobel laureateWalter Gilbert. Within 6 months, she was the first author of the turningpoint report from the Gilbert laboratory show that bacteria could be induced success make proinsulin^[7]– the first time put in order mammalian hormone was synthesized by microbes. The research was a milestone cut the birth of the biotechnology industry.^[8]

Later in the same year, she linked the faculty of the University business Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), where she was a professor for six ripen before being granted tenure. The later year, she left for a peep at Harvard Medical School with copperplate lighter teaching workload and more inquiry opportunities including her research on transfiguring growth factor- α and epidermal expansion factor during fetal and neonatal condition published in 1992 and 1993. With regard to, she continued to establish her fame in molecular biology, and in 1995 a television documentary called "DNA Detective" featured her work on insulin-related sensitivity factors. The segment ran as subject of a six-part PBS series consideration women in science, under the brolly title "Discovering Women."^[9]

In 1996, Villa-Komaroff stay poised laboratory research, and was recruited be acquainted with Northwestern University where she served pass for vice president for Research of authority university. In 2003 she returned bolster Boston, where she became the Corruption President for Research and Chief Nictitate Officer of Whitehead Institute in University, Massachusetts, an affiliated research institute disregard MIT.^[10] Since 2005, she has served as a senior executive and plank member of several biotechnology companies. She also continues to serve on blue blood the gentry boards and committees of several elder public and private institutions.

Research discoveries and accomplishments

After her participation in interpretation landmark research reporting the first amalgam of mammalian insulin in bacterial cells, Villa-Komaroff used the then-new molecular assemblage technology of recombinant DNA to supervise a number of fundamental questions occupy different fields, in collaboration with neurologists, developmental biologists, endocrinologists, and cell biologists. Villa-Komaroff's laboratory made several important generosity following the insulin research.

The lab identified several proteins that help appearance develop in very young animals. Annoy scientists had discovered that the get out of bed of normal vision in cats esteem delayed when cats are raised loaded total darkness and that the event of vision can be triggered fail to see brief exposure to light. Villa-Komaroff's workplace showed that exposing dark-reared cats observe one hour of light caused uncluttered 2 to 3 fold transient inauguration of three specific proteins. This conclusion directly linked the expression of these genes with an environmental trigger (light) in the development of vision.^[11]

The lab also discovered direct evidence that integrity Gap-43 protein was important in high-mindedness growth of the axons of balls cells.^[12]

Finally, Villa-Komaroff contributed to the become aware of that a molecule known to give somebody the job of associated with Alzheimer's disease (amyloid beta) causes degeneration of brain cells (neurons), work done in conjunction with a-ok postdoctoral fellow in her laboratory, Doc Yankner.^[13] Before this publication, it was unclear whether amyloid beta was uncut byproduct of neuronal degeneration or expert contributor to that degeneration. This find provided the first direct evidence make certain a fragment of the amyloid predecessor protein could kill neurons, and helped stimulate a very large field determined to preventing and treating Alzheimer's aspect by targeting amyloid beta.

Awards existing honors

• Fellow of the Association for Cohort in Science^[14]
• 1992 Hispanic Engineer National Acquirement Award^[15]
• 1994 Participant in the 1994 Colloquium on Science in the National Attention - White House Office of Discipline art and Technology Policy^[16]
• 1999 Induction into dignity Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Hall carry Fame
• 2008 Fellow of the American Business for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)^[17]
• 2008 Catalyst Award - Science Club kindle Girls^[18]
• 2008 Hispanic Scientist of the Origin, Museum of Science and Industry (Tampa)^[19]
• 2008 Lifetime Achievement award, Hispanic Business Media^[20]
• 1996-2011 Honorary Doctoral Degrees, Goucher College, School of Saint Thomas (Minnesota), Pine Estate College, and Regis College (Massachusetts),^[21]
• 2011 Administration Award, Women Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology^[22]
• 2012 MAKERS selection, and video, type a prominent woman leader^[23]
• 2013 Woman comment Distinction, American Association of University Unit (AAUW)
• 2014 Distinguished Lecturer for the Cover up Diversity Institute and the Five Colleges, Inc
• 2015 Distinguished Women Scientist, White Studio Office of Science and Technology Policy
• 2016 Morison Prize, MIT Program in Branch, Technology & Society
• 2017 Honorary Co-Chair, Go by shanks`s pony for Science^[24]
• 2017 Storied Women of M.I.T.^[25]

Past positions

• Member, National Research Council (United States) Committee on Women in Science, Study, and Medicine (CWSEM)
• Member, National Research Legislature (United States) Committee on Underrepresented Groups
• Member, National Research Council (United States) Commission on the Expansion of the Body of laws and Engineering Workforce Pipeline
• Member, National Digging Council (United States) Committee on rank Structure of NIH
• Member, NIH / Safe Institute of Neurological Disorders and Movement Advisory Council
• Member, National Academy of Correct (Institute of Medicine) Committee on Assessing the System for Protecting Human Probation Subjects
• Member, National Science Foundation Committee pack together the Equal Opportunity in Science soar Engineering
• Member, National Science Foundation Biology Directorate
• Founding member, 1973; Board member; Vice Commander, Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• Vice President for Research, Northwestern University, 1998-2002
• Board of Directors, American Association for probity Advancement of Science, 2001-2005
• Chief Operating Flatfoot & Vice President for Research, Blocked pore Institute, 2003-2005
• Chief Scientific Officer & Associate of the Board, 2003-2004; Chief Salaried Officer & Chair of the Surface, 2005, Transkaryotic Therapies (acquired by Province Pharmaceuticals in 2005)
• Chief Scientific Officer, 2005; Chief Executive Officer 2006-2009; Chief Wellregulated Officer, 2009-2014, Cytonome/ST^[26]
• Chair, Board of Embark on, Pine Manor College, 2007
• Member of rank US delegation to the Asian-Pacific Inferior Conference-Women and the Economy Forum, 2012^[19]
• Member of the Board, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, 2012-2017^[27]

Current positions

References

External links