Marisa Bartolomei and Celeste Simon have been elected into the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Cell and Developmental Biology now has five NAS members, all of whom are women. Please read this article for more information on their research and achievements. Congratulations!!
Ken Zaret, Ph.D., has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Ken is known for discovering the first “pioneer factor”, which are transcription factors that can directly bind condensed chromatin. The concept of a pioneer factor, as formulated by Ken, is that only a small subset of transcription factors has the capacity to bind to condensed chromatin and pave the way for other transcription factors to bind. Pioneer factors are therefore critical determinants of when and where a gene is expressed, and of cellular identity. He provided a key model for how transcription factors can overcome transcriptional repression to activate specific pathways and form tissues.
Full article here. Congratulations, Ken!
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today announced its newly elected class of Fellows of the AACR Academy, and it includes Shelley Berger and Celeste Simon. Congratulations!
The mission of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. Fellows of the AACR Academy serve as a global brain trust of top contributors to cancer science and medicine who help advance the mission of the AACR to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research. Please read the full article here.
Below are the accomplishments and contributions for which Shelley and Celeste were elected:
Shelley L. Berger, PhD
For her illuminating contributions to the fields of chromatin biology, epigenetics, and transcriptional regulation, including the demonstration of novel chromatin-specific mechanisms that influence the progression of tumors with gain-of-function p53 mutations and for identifying numerous enzymes responsible for post-translational histone modification, providing important mechanistic insights into the importance of epigenetic events in tumor initiation and progression.
Celeste Simon, PhD
For enriching contributions to the understanding of cellular, tissue, and organismal responses to changes in oxygen availability, including the characterization of PU.1 as an essential component of hematopoietic cell development, and for defining how oxygen gradients may regulate hematopoiesis, angiogenesis, cardiovascular development, stem cell function, and tumor development via HIF-1 and other oxygen sensors.
The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) is pleased to announce Rajan Jain, MD, as the recipient of the 2021 Donald Seldin~Holly Smith Award for Pioneering Research. Dr. Jain will receive an unrestricted award of $30,000 to advance his academic efforts and will deliver a scientific talk at the 2022 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting. You can read more about Dr. Jain’s research here.