Natalie Ahn

Last updated
Natalie G. Ahn
Education University of Washington, Seattle (B.S., 1979)
University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D., 1985)
Scientific career
Fields Chemistry
Biochemistry
Institutions University of Colorado at Boulder (1992– )
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver (2003– )
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1994–2014 )
Doctoral advisor Judith P. Klinman
Other academic advisors Edwin Krebs
Christoph de Haën

Natalie G. Ahn is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research is focused on understanding the mechanisms of cell signaling, with a speciality in phosphorylation and cancers. [1] Ahn's work uses the tools of "classical chemistry" to work on understanding the genetic code and how genetics affects life processes. [2] She has been a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder since 2003, where she is a distinguished professor. [3] She was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator between 1994 and 2014. [4] In 2018, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. [5] [6]

Contents

Biography

Past education, research, and awards

Ahn earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1979. [7] Ahn conducted research in Lyle Jensen's lab, focusing on X-ray crystallography. [7] Her participation in this research aided in better understanding of protein folding and visualizing of the 3-D structure of proteins by using computational techniques with X-ray crystallography. [8] Additionally, Ahn worked as an undergraduate research assistant in David Teller's lab, which investigated protein hydrodynamics, the study of the motion of proteins relative to their aqueous environment, which they can either be suspended or dissolved within. [7] [9]

In 1985, she received her PhD in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. [10] Here, Ahn worked with Judith Klinman, studying enzymology. [7]

Ahn's first postdoctoral job was studying hormone receptor binding at the University of Washington with Christoph de Haen. [7] Ahn then moved to Edwin Kreb's lab, where she began her career in signal transduction. [7] In this lab, Ahn was "one of the first to describe MAP kinases and MAP kinase kinases." [7] She started working at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1992. [11] Ahn was part of the Searle Scholars Program to fund young scientists' work in 1993. [12] She was one of eight project collaborators who won a grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation for identifying proteins in a single cell type. [13] In 2012, she was named College Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado. [11] In 2014, she became part of the Subcellular Pan-Omics for Advanced Rapid Threat Assessment (SPARTA) team which is a biochemical project supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). [14]

Current research

Ahn is currently working at the University of Colorado and is conducting research on cell signaling, information and proteomics, and molecular biophysics. [7] Specific topics of her research include:

Community service

Ahn was elected president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) in the summer of 2015. [7] She was previously a member of the council. [7] She began attending the ASBMB annual meeting while still a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley and gave her first public research talk at one of these meetings. [7]

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ Old, William M.; Shabb, John B.; Houel, Stephane; Wang, Hong; Couts, Kasey L.; Yen, Chia-yu; Litman, Elizabeth S.; Croy, Carrie H.; Meyer-Arendt, Karen; Miranda, Jose G.; Brown, Robert A.; Witze, Eric S.; Schweppe, Rebecca E.; Resing, Katheryn A.; Ahn, Natalie G. (2009). "Functional Proteomics Identifies Targets of Phosphorylation by B-Raf Signaling in Melanoma". Molecular Cell. 34 (1): 115–31. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2009.03.007. PMC   2735263 . PMID   19362540.
  2. ↑ Friedman, Roberta (January 2004). "Finding the Trees in the Proteomic Forest". Genomics & Proteomics. 4 (1): 38–40.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Natalie Ahn". University of Colorado Boulder. 9 October 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Natalie G. Ahn, PhD". Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "National Academy of Sciences Members and Foreign Associates Elected". National Academy of Sciences. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Newly Elected Fellows". members.amacad.org. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Feature: Meet Natalie Ahn, ASBMB's incoming president". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  8. ↑ "Molecular Anatomy: X-Ray Crystallography Helps Solve the Mystery of Protein Structure". www.washington.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  9. ↑ Harding, Stephen (1999). "Protein Hydrodynamics" (PDF). JAI. 2: 271–305.
  10. ↑ "Natalie Ahn". BioFrontiers Institute. University of Colorado. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 Talbott, Clint (2013). "Following the Pathways to Metastatic Melanoma". Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine. University of Colorado Boulder. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Natalie G. Ahn". Searle Scholars Program. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "CU People – September 2009". Coloradan Magazine. September 2009. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "CU Awarded DARPA Cooperative Agreement to Assess Mechanisms of Drugs and Chemical Agents". Biotech Week. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016– via HighBeam Research.
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