Dale Brown Emeagwali

Last updated
Dale Brown Emeagwali
Born
Dale Donita Brown

December 24, 1954
Baltimore, Maryland
Known forMicrobiologist, Cancer Researcher
Spouse(s) Philip Emeagwali
Children1

Dale Brown Emeagwali (born December 24, 1954) is an American microbiologist and cancer researcher whose accomplishments include the discovery of kynurenine formamidase isozymes in Streptomyces parvulus , proof that cancer gene expression can be inhibited by antisense methodology,[ clarification needed ] and demonstration of overlapping gene expression [ clarification needed ] in a DNA virus.[ which? ] She received the 1996 Scientist of the Year award from the National Technical Honor Society.[ citation needed ]

Kynurenine chemical compound

l-Kynurenine is a metabolite of the amino acid l-tryptophan used in the production of niacin.

Formamidase

In enzymology, a formamidase (EC 3.5.1.49) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

Isozymes are enzymes that differ in amino acid sequence but catalyze the same chemical reaction. These enzymes usually display different kinetic parameters, or different regulatory properties. The existence of isozymes permits the fine-tuning of metabolism to meet the particular needs of a given tissue or developmental stage. In biochemistry, isozymes are isoforms of enzymes. In many cases, they are coded for by homologous genes that have diverged over time. Although, strictly speaking, allozymes represent enzymes from different alleles of the same gene, and isozymes represent enzymes from different genes that process or catalyse the same reaction, the two words are usually used interchangeably.

Contents

Early life and education

Emeagwali was born Dale Donita Brown on December 24, 1954 in Baltimore to Doris Brown, a schoolteacher, and Leon Brown, a magazine production department superintendent. [1] She attended Alexander Hamilton Elementary School #145 and Northwestern High School where she graduated in 1972. Despite facing racial segregation at school and in the community, she graduated from high school at the top of her class. [2] She earned a bachelor's degree in biology and minor in chemistry from Coppin State University in 1976 and a doctorate in microbiology from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1981. [3] [2]

Baltimore Largest city in Maryland, United States

Baltimore is the most populous municipality in the U.S. state of Maryland. Baltimore was established by the Constitution of Maryland as an independent city in 1729. With a population of 602,495 in 2018, Baltimore is the largest such independent city in the United States. As of 2017, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be just under 2.802 million, making it the 21st largest metropolitan area in the country. Baltimore is located about 40 miles (60 km) northeast of Washington, D.C., making it a principal city in the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the fourth-largest CSA in the nation, with a calculated 2018 population of 9,797,063.

Northwestern High School (Baltimore) high school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Northwestern High School is a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Racial segregation in the United States Historical separation of African Americans from American white society

Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, refers to the racial segregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation in the United States along racial lines. The term mainly refers to the legally or socially enforced separation of African Americans from whites, but is also used in regards to the separation of other ethnic minorities from majority mainstream communities. While mainly referring to the physical separation and provision of separate facilities, it can also refer to other manifestations such as the separation of roles within an institution. Notably, in the United States Armed Forces up until the 1950s, black units were typically separated from white units but were nevertheless still led by white officers.

Career

Fellowships

Emeagwali completed concurrent postdoctoral fellowships with the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. She subsequently completed a fellowship with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. [4]

National Institutes of Health Medical research organization in the United States

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1870s and is now part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The majority of NIH facilities are located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through its Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.

National Science Foundation United States government agency

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about US$7.8 billion, the NSF funds approximately 24% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

American Cancer Society health organization seeking to cure and treat cancer

The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than 250 Regional offices throughout the United States. Its global headquarters is located in the American Cancer Society Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The ACS publishes the journals Cancer, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Cancer Cytopathology.

Research

In 1986, Emeagwali worked as a research associate at the University of Wyoming. From 1987 to 1992 she served as an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan. She was a research associate at the University of Minnesota from 1992 to 1996. That year, while working at Ball State University, [1] she was named Scientist of the Year by the National Technical Honor Society for her contributions in the fields of microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry. [4]

University of Wyoming public university in Laramie, Wyoming

The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,220 feet (2194 m), between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university. The university was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming is unusual in that its location within the state is written into the state's constitution. The university also offers outreach education in communities throughout Wyoming and online.

University of Michigan Public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, 20 years before the territory became a state. The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres (16 ha) of what is now known as Central Campus. Since its establishment in Ann Arbor, the university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus, two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn, and a Center in Detroit. The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

University of Minnesota public research university in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses are approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) apart, and the St. Paul campus is actually in neighboring Falcon Heights. It is the oldest and largest campus within the University of Minnesota system and has the sixth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 50,943 students in 2018-19. The university is the flagship institution of the University of Minnesota system, and is organized into 19 colleges and schools, with sister campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester.

Emeagwali's early research focused on the bacterial order Actinomycetales, particularly the genus Streptomyces , from which the antibacterial agent streptomycin is derived. Her most important[ according to whom? ] discovery was the existence of kynurenine formamidase isozymes in Streptomyces parvulus . [5]

Actinomycetales order of Actinobacteria

The Actinomycetales are an order of Actinobacteria. A member of the order is often called an actinomycete. The actinomycetes are very diverse and contain a variety of subdivisions, as well as yet-unclassified isolates, mainly because some genera are very difficult to classify because of a highly niche-dependent phenotype. For example, Nocardia contains several phenotypes first believed to be distinct species before their differences were shown to be entirely dependent on their growth conditions.

<i>Streptomyces</i> genus of Actinobacteria

Streptomyces is the largest genus of Actinobacteria and the type genus of the family Streptomycetaceae. Over 500 species of Streptomyces bacteria have been described. As with the other Actinobacteria, streptomycetes are gram-positive, and have genomes with high GC content. Found predominantly in soil and decaying vegetation, most streptomycetes produce spores, and are noted for their distinct "earthy" odor that results from production of a volatile metabolite, geosmin.

Streptomycin An antibiotic effective against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Streptomycin is an antibiotic used to treat a number of bacterial infections. This includes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, Burkholderia infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. For active tuberculosis it is often given together with isoniazid, rifampicin, and pyrazinamide. It is given by injection into a vein or muscle.

Her later research demonstrated that antisense methodology[ vague ] can be used to suppress gene expression in cancerous cells. [6]

Antisense RNA Rna molecules which hybridize to complementary sequences in either rna or dna altering the function of the latter. Endogenous antisense rnas function as regulators of gene expression by a variety of mechanisms. Synthetic antisense rnas are used to e

Antisense RNA (asRNA), also referred to as antisense transcript, natural antisense transcript (NAT) or antisense oligonucleotide, is a single stranded RNA that is complementary to a protein coding messenger RNA (mRNA) with which it hybridizes, and thereby blocks its translation into protein. asRNAs have been found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, antisense transcripts can be classified into short and long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The primary function of asRNA is regulating gene expression. asRNAs may also be produced synthetically and have found wide spread use as research tools for gene knockdown. They may also have therapeutic applications.

Personal life

On August 15, 1981, she married Philip Emeagwali, with whom she had one son. [2]

Awards and honors

Selected works

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007). "Emeagwali, Dale Brown". Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition. New York: Facts on File, Inc. pp. 210–211. ISBN   9781438118826. OCLC   466364697 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 "Emeagwali, Dale 1954–". Contemporary Black Biography. Retrieved 2019-07-16– via Encyclopedia.com.
  3. ↑ "Science Stars: African-American microbiologist Dale Emeagwali" (PDF). St Louis American. Feb 27, 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Dale Brown Emeagwali (1954- ) • BlackPast". BlackPast. 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  5. ↑ "Biographies of Scientists: Dale Brown Emeagwali - Microbiologist and Community Leader - Blogs - Tips". tips.fm. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  6. ↑ Carey, Charles W. (2008). African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People and Progress. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 70–71. ISBN   9781851099986.
  7. ↑ Brown, D. D.; Hitchcock, M. J.; Katz, E. (1980-06-01). "Evidence for a constitutive and inducible form of kynurenine formamidase in an actinomycin-producing strain of Streptomyces parvulus". Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 202 (1): 18–22. doi:10.1016/0003-9861(80)90400-2. ISSN   0003-9861. PMID   6156659.
  8. ↑ Brown, D. D.; Salzman, L. A. (1984-03-01). "Sequence homology between the structural proteins of Kilham rat virus". Journal of Virology. 49 (3): 1018–1020. ISSN   0022-538X. PMC   255569 . PMID   6699933.
  9. ↑ Brown, D.; Yu, Z. P.; Miller, P.; Blake, K.; Wei, C.; Kung, H. F.; Black, R. J.; Ts'o, P. O.; Chang, E. H. (1989-01-01). "Modulation of ras expression by anti-sense, nonionic deoxyoligonucleotide analogs". Oncogene Research. 4 (4): 243–252. ISSN   0890-6467. PMID   2671865.
  10. ↑ Prochownik, E. V.; Smith, M. J.; Snyder, K.; Emeagwali, D. (1990-11-01). "Amplified expression of three jun family members inhibits erythroleukemia differentiation". Blood. 76 (9): 1830–1837. ISSN   0006-4971. PMID   2121297.
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