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| April 18, 2005 LSI adds top scientists to interdisciplinary faculty
“This influx of highly talented scientists from multiple disciplines showcases Michigan's approach to advancing science," said LSI Director Alan R. Saltiel. “This group is a dynamic microcosm of the key research areas in the LSI. They expand our universe of talent and will intensify our interactions and collaborations." The new faculty in the LSI laboratory “without walls" work in fields such as evolutionary biology, cell biology, human genetics, oncology, pathology and structural biology. Two of the six researchers are in computational biology, a new field of discovery at the interface of biology and information science. “It's the opportunity to talk and work alongside colleagues in other disciplines who have other ways of thinking—that's the catalyst for discovery and it's what top researchers like this want," Saltiel said. The recruitments bring the number of LSI faculty to 17 out of an expected total of 25-30 scientists. “This major recruiting announcement marks tremendous forward momentum in an endeavor that will enrich all life science activities at U-M," said President Mary Sue Coleman. “The Life Sciences Institute and its partner departments in academic units throughout the University are bridging key areas of discovery with an exceptional roster of new faculty. We are building a team of researchers who will not only advance scientific knowledge, but also contribute significantly to the economic development of the state." The Institute serves as U-M's hub for collaborative biomedical research on human health problems. Housed in a state-of-the-art building, the LSI is located between central campus and the medical complex in Ann Arbor. Currently 330 researchers, including more than 80 students, work in the LSI on faculty-led teams. The new LSI faculty are: Jason E. Gestwicki, Ph.D. will add to the Institute's efforts in small molecule research and drug discovery with his investigations of molecules that inhibit protein-protein interactions. A study he published last year that used small molecules to block the formation of the amyloid plaques (clumps of protein) that characterize Alzheimer's disease was named one of the Chemistry Highlights of 2004 by the Chemical and Engineering News. Gestwicki is also developing chemical tools for altering and stopping pathogenic interactions, such as the binding between a cell and a virus. Gestwicki will become an LSI assistant research professor and assistant professor of pathology in the Medical School in July, after completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and was an undergraduate double major in chemistry and recombinant gene technology at the State University of New York-Fredonia. Patrick J. Hu, M.D., Ph.D. is investigating the genes involved in cancer primarily by using a model organism, the 1 mm nematode worm, C. elegans. Many of the genes that are implicated in the development of cancer have been retained throughout evolution and appear in this worm. By looking at some of the genes and proteins that govern cell-to-cell communication in the worm, Dr. Hu plans to generate new ideas about cancer gene function and then test these hypotheses in mouse models of cancer. The ultimate goal would be to identify novel targets for anticancer drugs. Dr. Hu joins LSI in July 2005 after completing a Howard Hughes Medical Institute post-doctoral research fellowship at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He will be an LSI assistant research professor and assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Medical School. He completed his M.D. at New York University School of Medicine, performed a residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and completed a fellowship in adult oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Hu has also studied classical piano performance at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf, Germany. Alexey Kondrashov, Ph.D. is using computing power to investigate some of the most difficult questions of evolutionary biology, such as how natural selection works at the level of individual proteins and amino acids, and why so many species rely on sexual reproduction. Using computers to compare large bodies of raw biological data from many species, Kondrashov is able to see evolutionary differences through long stretches of biological history. Some of this work relates to human mutations and comparisons between our species and other mammals. Kondrashov will become an LSI research professor and a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) in summer 2006. He is currently at the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the National Institutes of Health. He previously was an associate professor of ecology and systematics at Cornell University. Kondrashov earned his Ph.D. in evolutionary genetics at Pushchino Research Center of the Russia Academy of Science and came to the U.S. in 1990 as a visiting scientist. Noah Rosenberg, Ph.D. is using powerful computers and software to explore the roots and branches of the human family tree. His research is sifting through key landmarks in the human genome and helping sort out how these markers relate to one another between individuals, across continents and through time. Some of this information can, in turn, be used to develop better epidemiology to prevent human health problems. He is also interested in developing mathematical models and statistical tools for application in population genetics. Rosenbergwill join UM in July with his primary appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics in the Medical School and appointments as assistant research professor in the LSI and in the interdepartmental Bioinformatics Program. He holds a prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Fellowship, which is a five-year award for promising researchers in the biomedical sciences. Rosenberg earned a Ph.D. from Stanford in biological sciences and is completing a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular and computational biology at the University of Southern California. John Tesmer, Ph.D. investigates a particular class of protein molecules that carry signals across the membranes of cells. This cell-to-cell communication is significant in sensations of sight and smell, for regulation of blood pressure and heart rate, and for many other physiological events. He also studies the structure and function of enzymes that have been associated with leukemia. Tesmer, who is primarily an x-ray crystallographer, joins the “dream team" of structural biologists in LSI's Center for Structural Biology that is determining the three-dimensional shapes of important biomolecules. Tesmer joins the LSI in July as an associate research professor, and will be an associate professor in pharmacology in the Medical School as well. He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and received his Ph.D. from Purdue University. Lois Weisman, Ph.D., studies how components within a cell are moved to the right place at the right time. This process is a key feature of ordinary cell division and embryonic development and plays a role in many diseases including cancer and diabetes. Her research relies on the model organism baker's yeast (S. cerevisiae). Weisman joins LSI this summer as an LSI research professor and professor, department of cell and developmental biology in the Medical School. She is currently on the faculty at the University of Iowa, and earned her Ph.D., from the University of California, Berkeley. (Her appointment is pending final Regental approval in May, 2005.) Related links: Contact: Robin Stephenson |
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