Ruth Lehmann

Last updated
Ruth Lehmann
Born
Germany
Alma mater University of Tübingen
Awards
Scientific career
Fields Developmental and cell biology
Institutions New York University School of Medicine
Doctoral advisor Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
Website lehmannlab.med.nyu.edu

Ruth Lehmann is a developmental and cell biologist. She is the Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. [1] She previously was affiliated with the New York University School of Medicine, where she was the Director of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Cell Biology, and the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology. Her research focuses on germ cells and embryogenesis.

Contents

Early life

Lehmann initially became interested in science during her early years at home. [2] Her mother served as a teacher and loved both the arts and literature, while her father worked as an engineer. She developed a particular interest in biology, which was in part fueled by a high school biology teacher who encouraged her to pursue the subject at a university.

Education

Lehmann attended the University of Tübingen in Germany to pursue a major in biology. [3] Despite her love for the subject, she was unhappy with the teaching environment and found the courses tedious. [2] Following strong encouragement from American faculty, she applied for and was granted a Fulbright Fellowship in 1977 to study ecology in the United States. [4] After realizing that she preferred genetics and mathematics to ecology, she connected with Gerold Schubiger, a geneticist studying fruit fly development in Seattle, Washington where she learned classical developmental biology. [5] Following her year-long fellowship, Lehmann attended her first scientific conference, the 1978 Society for Developmental Biology meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. [2] There she met her future mentor and friend Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard. As Nüsslein-Volhard was moving to an independent position at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, which was not associated with a graduate program, she referred Lehmann to José Campos-Ortega, a researcher at Freiburg University studying the neurobiology of Drosophila [5] . Lehmann worked closely with both Campos-Ortega and Nüsslein-Volhard and returned to Tübingen the following year to earn her Ph.D. with Nüsslein-Volhard, at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, studying the maternal genes affecting embryonic development in fruit flies. [4] Lehmann then accepted a post-doctoral position at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.

Academic career

Following her post-doctoral position at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Lehmann returned to the United States to found her own laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [4] She remained at MIT for 8 years, serving as a faculty member at both MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, in addition to working as a geneticist and molecular biologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital. [3] In 1994, Lehmann was one of 16 women faculty in the School of Science at MIT who drafted and co-signed a letter to the then-Dean of Science (now Chancellor of Berkeley) Robert Birgeneau, which started a campaign to highlight and challenge gender discrimination at MIT. [6]

Lehmann then moved to the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University in 1996 as the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Cell Biology. She has since become the director of the Skirball Institute and the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Center for Stem Cell Biology, and has recently been named chair of the Cell Biology Department. [7]

Lehmann has served as president of the Society of Developmental Biology, president of the Harvey Society, and council member of the American Society for Cell Biology. In addition, she has founded and advised graduate programs for NYU Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, University of California San Francisco, and more. She is on the council for the National Institute of Child Health and serves as editor for a number of scientific journals including Cell , Developmental Biology and the Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology . [8]

As of September 2019, Dr. Lehmann was announced as the new Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, succeeding David Page.

Awards, honors, and tributes

Lehman has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2005, one of the most prestigious honorary organizations for scientists in the nation. [3] She was also named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as the European Molecular Biology Organization. In 2011 she was awarded the Conklin Medal of the Society of Developmental Biology. She is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science, [9] awarded by the Vilcek Foundation. [10] In 2021 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel. [11] In 2021, she was awarded the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal and in 2022 she was awarded the Gruber Prize in Genetics. [12]

Research

Lehmann published her first paper in 1981 under her Fulbright Fellowship mentor Campos-Ortega, detailing her study of early neurogenesis in Drosophila and the effects of lethal mutations on neural and epidermal cell precursors. [13] Under Nüsslein-Volhard, Lehmann began to study maternal genes like oskar, pumilio, and nanos, comparing the effects of maternal versus zygotic genes in germ cell formation, abdominal patterning, and cell signaling. [14] [15] Using molecular cloning techniques, she discovered that oskar and nanos RNA transcripts regulate gene expression and germ cell formation by localizing at the posterior embryonic pole. [16] [17] Her later work continues to build on this discovery by analyzing modification mechanisms of RNA transcript production and how they affect germ cell differentiation and localization in Drosophila. Among other mechanisms, her laboratory discovered that a polyadenylated tail is not required for gene regulation. [16]

Lehmann continued to focus her research efforts on germ cell differentiation well into the early 2000s. She played a substantial role in the discovery of germ cell migratory pathways (namely those involving gap junctions, G protein-coupled receptors like Tre-1, and isoprenoids), particularly those concerning migration into the ovaries and testis. [18] [19] [20] In 2005, Lehmann's laboratory published a paper relating the lipid phosphatases Wunen and Wunen 2 to germ cell migration and elimination, suggesting that germ cells are sorted into the gonads by a type of repellent mechanism. [21] Her findings up to this point indicated that germ cells avoid differentiation into somatic cells through a combination of her previously studied regulatory mechanisms, each of which has the potential to silence transcription and control translation.

Currently, Lehmann is studying piRNA production and the role it plays in preventing transposable element insertion and movement across the Drosophila genome. [22] She discovered that biogenesis of piRNAs and activation of the piRNA pathway is directly dependent on a number of proteins and epigenetic interactions. These results indicate that piRNAs play a paramount role in maintaining genomic integrity while allowing for genetic variation to occur.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard</span> German developmental biologist and 1995 Nobel Prize winner

Christiane (Janni) Nüsslein-Volhard is a German developmental biologist and a 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. She is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences.

<i>Drosophila</i> embryogenesis Embryogenesis of the fruit fly Drosophila, a popular model system

Drosophila embryogenesis, the process by which Drosophila embryos form, is a favorite model system for genetics and developmental biology. The study of its embryogenesis unlocked the century-long puzzle of how development was controlled, creating the field of evolutionary developmental biology. The small size, short generation time, and large brood size make it ideal for genetic studies. Transparent embryos facilitate developmental studies. Drosophila melanogaster was introduced into the field of genetic experiments by Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric F. Wieschaus</span> American biologist

Eric Francis Wieschaus is an American evolutionary developmental biologist and 1995 Nobel Prize-winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morphogen</span> Biological substance that guides development by non-uniform distribution

A morphogen is a substance whose non-uniform distribution governs the pattern of tissue development in the process of morphogenesis or pattern formation, one of the core processes of developmental biology, establishing positions of the various specialized cell types within a tissue. More specifically, a morphogen is a signaling molecule that acts directly on cells to produce specific cellular responses depending on its local concentration.

<i>Krüppel</i>

Krüppel is a gap gene in Drosophila melanogaster, located on the 2R chromosome, which encodes a zinc finger C2H2 transcription factor. Gap genes work together to establish the anterior-posterior segment patterning of the insect through regulation of the transcription factor encoding pair rule genes. These genes in turn regulate segment polarity genes. Krüppel means "cripple" in German, named for the crippled appearance of mutant larvae, who have failed to develop proper thoracic and anterior segments in the abdominal region. Mutants can also have abdominal mirror duplications.

Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) is the largest class of small non-coding RNA molecules expressed in animal cells. piRNAs form RNA-protein complexes through interactions with piwi-subfamily Argonaute proteins. These piRNA complexes are mostly involved in the epigenetic and post-transcriptional silencing of transposable elements and other spurious or repeat-derived transcripts, but can also be involved in the regulation of other genetic elements in germ line cells.

The Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at the NYU School of Medicine is a division of the Graduate School of Arts and Science of New York University, leading to the Ph.D. degree and, in coordination with the Medical Scientist Training Program, combined M.D./Ph.D. degrees. The institute sets the policies for its admissions, curriculum, stipend levels, student evaluations and Ph.D. requirements.

Gerd Jürgens is a plant developmental biologist and emeritus Director of the Cell Biology Department at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology and Head of the Center for Plant Molecular Biology (ZMBP) at the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen. He has published extensively in leading journals, including eight papers in the journal Nature as well as various articles in the journals Cell, Science, Journal of Cell Biology and The Plant Journal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diethard Tautz</span> German biologist and geneticist (born 1957)

Diethard Tautz is a German biologist and geneticist, who is primarily concerned with the molecular basis of the evolution of mammals. Since 2006 he is director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön.

Norbert Perrimon is a French geneticist and developmental biologist. He is the James Stillman Professor of Developmental Biology in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and an Associate of the Broad Institute. He is known for developing a number of techniques for used in genetic research with Drosophila melanogaster, as well as specific substantive contributions to signal transduction, developmental biology and physiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Leptin</span> German developmental biologist and immunologist

Maria Leptin is a German developmental biologist and immunologist, and the current President of the European Research Council. She was the Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization from 2010 to 2021.

<i>Homeotic protein bicoid</i> Protein-coding gene in the species Drosophila melanogaster

Homeotic protein bicoid is encoded by the bcd maternal effect gene in Drosophilia. Homeotic protein bicoid concentration gradient patterns the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis during Drosophila embryogenesis. Bicoid was the first protein demonstrated to act as a morphogen. Although bicoid is important for the development of Drosophila and other higher dipterans, it is absent from most other insects, where its role is accomplished by other genes.

Evx1 is a mammalian gene located downstream of the HoxA cluster, which encodes for a homeobox transcription factor. Evx1 is a homolog of even-skipped (eve), which is a pair-rule gene that regulates body segmentation in Drosophila. The expression of Evx1 is developmentally regulated, displaying a biphasic expression pattern with peak expression in the primitive streak during gastrulation and in interneurons during neural development. Evx1 has been shown to regulate anterior-posterior patterning during gastrulation by acting as a downstream effector of the Wnt and BMP signalling pathways. It is also a critical regulator of interneuron identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillip D. Zamore</span> American molecular biologist

Phillip D. Zamore is an American molecular biologist and developed the first in vitro system for studying the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi). He is the Gretchen Stone Cook Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Zamore is the chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute (RTI) at UMass Chan Medical School, established in 2009, and has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2008. 

Antonio Jesus Giraldez is a Spanish developmental biologist and RNA researcher at Yale University School of Medicine, where he serves as chair of the department of genetics and Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Genetics. He is also affiliated with the Yale Cancer Center and the Yale Stem Cell Center.

Kathryn Virginia Anderson was an American developmental biologist researching about the various gene and protein interactions that guide the process of embryogenesis and especially neurulation.

Anne Ephrussi is a French developmental and molecular biologist. Her research is focused on the study of post-transcriptional regulations such as mRNA localization and translation control in molecular biology as well as the establishment of polarity axes in cell and developmental biology. She is head of the Developmental Biology Unit and director of the EMBL International Centre for Advanced Training (EICAT) program at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primordial germ cell migration</span>

Primordial germ cell (PGC) migration is the process of distribution of primordial germ cells throughout the embryo during embryogenesis.

Tulle Inger Hazelrigg is an American biologist who is Professor of Cell Biology at Columbia University. Her research considers the propagation and differentiation of germ cells. Hazelrigg was the first to attach green fluorescent protein to other proteins, which changed the way biological research could be conducted.

Elizabeth Gavis is an American biologist who is the Damon B. Pfeiffer Professor of Life Sciences, at Princeton University. Gavis served as the President of the North American Drosophila Board of Directors in 2011.

References

  1. ↑ "Lehmann Lab". Lehmann Lab. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Sedwick, Caitlin (2011-09-05). "Ruth Lehmann: Germ cells do things differently". The Journal of Cell Biology. 194 (5): 660–661. doi:10.1083/jcb.1945pi. ISSN   0021-9525. PMC   3171127 . PMID   21893593.
  3. 1 2 3 "Ruth Lehmann named as Department Chair | Department of Cell Biology". med.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ruth Lehmann, PhD | HHMI.org". HHMI.org. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  5. 1 2 "Ruth Lehmann". www.sdbonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  6. ↑ Zernike, Kate (2023). The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science. New York, NY: Scribner. ISBN   978-1-9821-3183-8.
  7. ↑ "Ruth Lehmann". www.sdbonline.org. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  8. ↑ Lehmann, Ruth (2018). "Introduction: Challenges for Science: A Retrospective". Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology. 34: v–viii. doi: 10.1146/annurev-cb-34-030918-100001 . PMID   30296393.
  9. ↑ "Ruth Lehmann". Vilcek Foundation. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  10. ↑ "2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Science Recognize Immigrant Leaders in STEM". Vilcek Foundation. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  11. ↑ "Dies Academicus 2021: University of Basel presents seven female honorary doctors". www.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  12. ↑ Gruber Prize in Genetics 2022
  13. ↑ Lehmann, Ruth; Dietrich, Ursula; Jiménez, F.; Campos-Ortega, J. A. (1981-07-01). "Mutations of early neurogenesis in Drosophila". Wilhelm Roux's Archives of Developmental Biology. 190 (4): 226–229. doi:10.1007/bf00848307. ISSN   0340-0794. PMID   28305572. S2CID   21814447.
  14. ↑ Lehmann, Ruth; Nüsslein-Volhard, Christiane (1987-09-10). "Involvement of the pumilio gene in the transport of an abdominal signal in the Drosophila embryo". Nature. 329 (6135): 167–170. Bibcode:1987Natur.329..167L. doi:10.1038/329167a0. ISSN   1476-4687. S2CID   4355300.
  15. ↑ Lehmann, Ruth (1988-10-01). "Phenotypic comparison between maternal and zygotic genes controlling the segmental pattern of the Drosophila embryo". Development. 104 (Supplement): 17–27. doi:10.1242/dev.104.Supplement.17. ISSN   0950-1991.
  16. 1 2 Chagnovich, D.; Lehmann, R. (2001-09-25). "Poly(A)-independent regulation of maternal hunchback translation in the Drosophila embryo". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98 (20): 11359–11364. Bibcode:2001PNAS...9811359C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.201284398 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   58734 . PMID   11562474.
  17. ↑ Gavis, Elizabeth R.; Lehmann, Ruth (1994-05-26). "Translational regulation of nanos by RNA localization". Nature. 369 (6478): 315–318. Bibcode:1994Natur.369..315G. doi:10.1038/369315a0. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   7514276. S2CID   4369219.
  18. ↑ Kunwar, Prabhat S.; Starz-Gaiano, Michelle; Bainton, Roland J.; Heberlein, Ulrike; Lehmann, Ruth (2003-12-22). "Tre1, a G Protein-Coupled Receptor, Directs Transepithelial Migration of Drosophila Germ Cells". PLOS Biology. 1 (3): e80. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0000080 . ISSN   1545-7885. PMC   300690 . PMID   14691551.
  19. ↑ Gilboa, Lilach; Forbes, Alexandria; Tazuke, Salli I.; Fuller, Margaret T.; Lehmann, Ruth (2003-12-29). "Germ line stem cell differentiation in Drosophila requires gap junctions and proceeds via an intermediate state". Development. 130 (26): 6625–6634. doi: 10.1242/dev.00853 . ISSN   0950-1991. PMID   14660550.
  20. ↑ Santos, Ana C; Lehmann, Ruth (2004). "Isoprenoids Control Germ Cell Migration Downstream of HMGCoA Reductase". Developmental Cell. 6 (2): 283–293. doi: 10.1016/s1534-5807(04)00023-1 . PMID   14960281.
  21. ↑ Sano, Hiroko; Renault, Andrew D.; Lehmann, Ruth (2005-11-21). "Control of lateral migration and germ cell elimination by the Drosophila melanogaster lipid phosphate phosphatases Wunen and Wunen 2". The Journal of Cell Biology. 171 (4): 675–683. doi:10.1083/jcb.200506038. ISSN   0021-9525. PMC   2171572 . PMID   16301333.
  22. ↑ Rangan, Prashanth; Malone, Colin D.; Navarro, Caryn; Newbold, Sam P.; Hayes, Patrick S.; Sachidanandam, Ravi; Hannon, Gregory J.; Lehmann, Ruth (2011-08-23). "piRNA production requires heterochromatin formation in Drosophila". Current Biology. 21 (16): 1373–1379. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.057. ISSN   1879-0445. PMC   3205116 . PMID   21820311.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.