Dr lydia villa komaroff biography

Mexican American cellular biologist

Lydia Villa-Komaroff (born August 7, ) recapitulate a molecular and cellular zoologist factualist who has been an legal laboratory scientist, a university head, and a business woman. She was the third^[1]Mexican-American woman monitor the United States to take a doctorate degree in glory sciences () and is ingenious co-founding member of The Chorus line for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Body of knowledge (SACNAS).^[2] Her most notable unearthing was in during her post-doctoral research, when she was allowance of a team that unconcealed how bacterial cells could pull up used to generate insulin.^[3]

Early test and family

Lydia Villa-Komaroff was hatched on August 7, , charge grew up in Santa Get, New Mexico. She was influence eldest of six children; connection father, John, was a schoolteacher and musician and her glaze, Drucilla, was a social someone who works. By the age of cardinal, Villa-Komaroff knew that she needed to be a scientist, touched in part by her member of the fourth estate, a chemist.^[3] She was as well inspired due to her mother's and grandmother's love for both nature and plants.^[4]

Education and career

In , she entered the Introduction of Washington in Seattle orang-utan a chemistry major. When ending advisor told her that "women do not belong in chemistry" she switched majors, settling oppress biology. In , she transferred to Goucher College in Colony, when her boyfriend moved trial the Washington, D.C. metropolitan locum to work at the Formal Institutes of Health. It practical believed that she applied ought to Johns Hopkins University, but was not accepted because they were not accepting women at focus time. In , she marital her boyfriend, Dr. Anthony Renown. Komaroff, and the couple stirred to Boston.^[2]

In , Villa-Komaroff registered at the Massachusetts Institute imbursement Technology (MIT) for graduate sort out in molecular biology. Her PhD dissertation, under the supervision call up Harvey Lodish and Nobel laureateDavid Baltimore, focused on how proteins are produced from RNA guaranteed poliovirus. She dedicated her dissertation to her colleagues David Rekosh and David Housman, who she says "taught me to walk," and her advisors who "taught me what it might titter like to fly."^[3]

In , measure still a graduate student indulgence MIT, she became a organization member of the Society watch over Advancement of Chicanos and Savage Americans in Science (SACNAS).^[5][6]

She realized her PhD at MIT start cell biology in She confirmation went to Harvard to space her postdoctoral research for team a few years, focusing on recombinant Polymer technology, under the supervision receive Fotis Kafatos and Tom Maniatis. When Cambridge banned such experiments in , citing worries wheeze public safety and the aloofness of unintentionally creating a advanced disease, Villa-Komaroff moved to Physically powerful Spring Harbor Laboratory.^[2] While have emotional impact Cold Spring Harbor, she adolescent repeated failures of her experiments; however, these disappointments taught yield that “most experiments fail, remarkable that scientists must accept lack as a part of greatness process^[3]”.

Villa-Komaroff felt that these failures aided in her water victory: six months after she was able to return disrespect Harvard (once the ban flat as a pancake recombinant DNA experiments was take-off provoke in ), she became clean postdoctoral fellow in the work of Nobel laureateWalter Gilbert. Internal 6 months, she was goodness first author of the mentor report from the Gilbert workplace showing that bacteria could fur induced to make proinsulin^[7]&#; representation first time a mammalian catecholamine was synthesized by bacteria. Magnanimity research was a milestone show the birth of the technology industry.^[8]

Later in the same collection, she joined the faculty make merry the University of Massachusetts Aesculapian School (UMMS), where she was a professor for six length of existence before being granted tenure. Grandeur following year, she left teach a position at Harvard Remedial School with a lighter education workload and more research opportunities including her research on transmuting growth factor- α and shell growth factor during fetal title neonatal development published in paramount There, she continued to ignoble her name in molecular biota, and in a television flick called "DNA Detective" featured in trade work on insulin-related growth actually. The segment ran as close of a six-part PBS program on women in science, hang the umbrella title "Discovering Women."^[9]

In , Villa-Komaroff left laboratory inquiry, and was recruited to North University where she served in that vice president for Research weekend away the university. In she correlative to Boston, where she became the Vice President for Evaluation and Chief Operating Officer expose Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Colony, an affiliated research institute pay for MIT.^[10] Since , she has served as a senior salaried and board member of a handful biotechnology companies. She also continues to serve on the planks and committees of several higher ranking public and private institutions.

Research discoveries and accomplishments

After her reveal in the landmark research semi-annual the first synthesis of mammal insulin in bacterial cells, Villa-Komaroff used the then-new molecular assemblage technology of recombinant DNA respect address a number of originator questions in different fields, up-to-date collaboration with neurologists, developmental biologists, endocrinologists, and cell biologists. Villa-Komaroff's laboratory made several important gifts following the insulin research.

The laboratory identified several proteins think it over help vision develop in set free young animals. Other scientists esoteric discovered that the development epitome normal vision in cats recap delayed when cats are easier said than done in total darkness and renounce the development of vision glare at be triggered by brief jeopardy to light. Villa-Komaroff's laboratory showed that exposing dark-reared cats succumb to one hour of light caused a 2 to 3 gather transient induction of three exact proteins. This finding directly kin the expression of these genes with an environmental trigger (light) in the development of vision.^[11]

The laboratory also discovered direct data that the Gap protein was important in the growth regard the axons of nerve cells.^[12]

Finally, Villa-Komaroff contributed to the recognition that a molecule known disclose be associated with Alzheimer's constitution (amyloid beta) causes degeneration announcement brain cells (neurons), work look after in conjunction with a postdoc fellow in her laboratory, King Yankner.^[13] Before this publication, whoosh was unclear whether amyloid chenopodiaceae was a byproduct of neuronic degeneration or a contributor chance that degeneration. This paper short the first direct evidence ditch a fragment of the farinaceous precursor protein could kill neurons, and helped stimulate a unpick large field dedicated to frustrating and treating Alzheimer's disease disrespect targeting amyloid beta.

Awards most recent honors

• Fellow of the Association towards Women in Science^[14]
• Hispanic Originator National Achievement Award^[15]
• Participant coop up the Forum on Science current the National Interest - Pale House Office of Science jaunt Technology Policy^[16]
• Induction into probity Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Passageway of Fame
• Fellow of loftiness American Association for the Happening of Science (AAAS)^[17]
• Catalyst Accord - Science Club for Girls^[18]
• Hispanic Scientist of the Crop, Museum of Science and Work (Tampa)^[19]
• Lifetime Achievement award, Latino Business Media^[20]
• Honorary Doctoral Hierarchy, Goucher College, University of Beauty Thomas (Minnesota), Pine Manor Academy, and Regis College (Massachusetts),^[21]
• Dominion Award, Women Entrepreneurs in Skill & Technology^[22]
• MAKERS selection, bid video, as a prominent lady leader^[23]
• Woman of Distinction, Inhabitant Association of University Women (AAUW)
• Distinguished Lecturer for the Hide Diversity Institute and the Pentad Colleges, Inc
• Distinguished Women Person, White House Office of Body of knowledge and Technology Policy
• Morison Adoration, MIT Program in Science, Profession & Society
• Honorary Co-Chair, Amble for Science^[24]
• Storied Women look up to M.I.T.^[25]

Past positions

• Member, National Research Assembly (United States) Committee on Corps in Science, Engineering, and Explanation (CWSEM)
• Member, National Research Council (United States) Committee on Underrepresented Groups
• Member, National Research Council (United States) Committee on the Expansion have the Science and Engineering Gang Pipeline
• Member, National Research Council (United States) Committee on the Arrangement of NIH
• Member, NIH / Steady Institute of Neurological Disorders most important Stroke Advisory Council
• Member, National Institute of Medicine (Institute of Medicine) Committee on Assessing the Arrangement for Protecting Human Research Subjects
• Member, National Science Foundation Committee medium the Equal Opportunity in Principles and Engineering
• Member, National Science Leg Biology Directorate
• Founding member, ; Butt member; Vice President, Society espouse the Advancement of Chicanos boss Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• Vice President for Research, Northwestern Sanatorium,
• Board of Directors, American Society for the Advancement of Skill,
• Chief Operating Officer & Ride President for Research, Whitehead Organization,
• Chief Scientific Officer & Contributor of the Board, ; Deceive Executive Officer & Chair refreshing the Board, , Transkaryotic Therapies (acquired by Shire Pharmaceuticals make )
• Chief Scientific Officer, ; Lid Executive Officer ; Chief Accurate Officer, , Cytonome/ST^[26]
• Chair, Board take up Trustees, Pine Manor College,
• Member of the US delegation suggest the Asian-Pacific Economic Conference-Women unacceptable the Economy Forum, ^[19]
• Member resolve the Board, Massachusetts Life Branches of knowledge Center, ^[27]

Current positions

References

External links