Sara A. Courtneidge is a cancer research scientist.
Courtneidge was a very young child when she decided that she wanted to be a scientist. Years later, she earned her Bachelor of Science certificate in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds and her PhD at the National Institute for Medical Research. [1] After receiving her PhD, Courtneidge accepted a research position with J. Michael Bishop at The University of California, Berkeley where she began her research on the Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src. [1] [2] Courtneidge’s most notable finding is her discovery of the link between the T antigen of polyomavirus and c-Src. Along with this finding, Courtneidge determined that Src is negatively activated through its association with tyrosine kinase. [1] [2]
Throughout her career, Courtneidge has held many leadership roles in numerous scientific communities. Some of these communities include The Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Courtneidge served as the Distinguished Scientific Investigator of Signal Regulation and Cancer, Sugen, Inc. where Courtneidge acted as Chief Scientist and Vice President of Research, and The European Molecular Biology Laboratory where she worked as both Group Leader and Senior Scientist. Courtneidge was also appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of TargeGen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in California which focuses on vascular biology and the development of methods to treat cancer and ischemic diseases. [3] Courtneidge received the AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship in 2015. This lecture is awarded to a scientist who has made impressive achievements in cancer research and has served as an outstanding leader to others. [2]
A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell. It functions as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and translational research into the etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Founded in 1907 by 11 physicians and scientists, the organization now has more than 58,000 members in 142 countries and territories. The mission of the AACR is to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.
Axel Ullrich is a German cancer researcher and has been the director of the molecular biology department at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany since 1988. This department's research has primarily focused on signal transduction. Ullrich has received Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence, awarded by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2008 and Ullrich and his team received the Wolf Prize in 2010.
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src, also known as proto-oncogene c-Src, or simply c-Src, is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase protein that in humans is encoded by the SRC gene. It belongs to a family of Src family kinases and is similar to the v-Src gene of Rous sarcoma virus. It includes an SH2 domain, an SH3 domain and a tyrosine kinase domain. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for this gene.
A non-receptor tyrosine kinase (nRTK) is a cytosolic enzyme that is responsible for catalysing the transfer of a phosphate group from a nucleoside triphosphate donor, such as ATP, to tyrosine residues in proteins. Non-receptor tyrosine kinases are a subgroup of protein family tyrosine kinases, enzymes that can transfer the phosphate group from ATP to a tyrosine residue of a protein (phosphorylation). These enzymes regulate many cellular functions by switching on or switching off other enzymes in a cell.
Lewis C. Cantley is an American cell biologist and biochemist who has made significant advances to the understanding of cancer metabolism. Among his most notable contributions are the discovery and study of the enzyme PI-3-kinase, now known to be important to understanding cancer and diabetes mellitus. He is currently Meyer Director and Professor of Cancer Biology at the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He was formerly a professor in the Departments of Systems Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of Cancer Research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2016, he was elected Chairman of the Board for the Hope Funds for Cancer Research.
Src kinase family is a family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases that includes nine members: Src, Yes, Fyn, and Fgr, forming the SrcA subfamily, Lck, Hck, Blk, and Lyn in the SrcB subfamily, and Frk in its own subfamily. Frk has homologs in invertebrates such as flies and worms, and Src homologs exist in organisms as diverse as unicellular choanoflagellates, but the SrcA and SrcB subfamilies are specific to vertebrates. Src family kinases contain six conserved domains: a N-terminal myristoylated segment, a SH2 domain, a SH3 domain, a linker region, a tyrosine kinase domain, and C-terminal tail.
Peter K. Vogt is an American molecular biologist, virologist and geneticist. His research focuses on retroviruses and viral and cellular oncogenes.
Joan S. Brugge is the Louise Foote Pfeiffer Professor of Cell Biology and the Director of the Ludwig Center at Harvard Medical School, where she also served as the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology from 2004 to 2014. Her research focuses on cancer biology, and she has been recognized for her explorations into the Rous sarcoma virus, extracellular matrix adhesion, and epithelial tumor progression in breast cancer.
Anthony Rex Hunter is a British-American biologist who is a professor of biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California San Diego. His research publications list his name as Tony Hunter.
Zena Werb was a professor and the Vice Chair of Anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco. She was also the co-leader of the Cancer, Immunity, and Microenvironment Program at the Hellen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and a member of the Executive Committee of the Sabre-Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center at UCSF. Her research focused on features of the microenvironment surrounding cells, with particular interest in the extracellular matrix and the role of its protease enzymes in cell signaling.
Karen Beemon is an American molecular biologist and professor of biology at Johns Hopkins University known for her research on RNA viruses and viral oncogenesis.
Owen Witte is an American physician-scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a University Professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, founding director emeritus of the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, and the UC Regents’ David Saxon Presidential Chair in developmental immunology (1989–present). Witte is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator (1986–2016) and a member of the President's Cancer Panel, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Cancer Research Academy of the AACR. He serves on numerous editorial boards and scientific advisory boards for academic centers and biotechnology companies.
Professor Carol L. Prives FRS is the Da Costa Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University. She is known for her work in the characterisation of p53, an important tumor suppressor protein frequently mutated in cancer.
Margaret Frame is a British biologist. She is the Professor of Cancer Biology and Science Director of Cancer Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh. She is also Director of MRC Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine. She has made seminal contributions to understanding mechanisms of cell adhesion and motility. She previously served as deputy-director of the Beatson Institute in Glasgow.
Dafna Bar-Sagi is a cell biologist and cancer researcher at New York University School of Medicine. She is the Saul J. Farber Professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology and the department of medicine and senior vice president and vice dean for science at NYU Langone Health. Bar-Sagi has been a member of scientific advisory boards, including the National Cancer Institute, Starr Cancer Consortium, and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Guillermina 'Gigi' Lozano is an American geneticist. She is a Professor and Hubert L. Olive Stringer Distinguished Chair in Oncology in Honor of Sue Gribble Stringer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Lozano is recognised for her studies of the p53 tumour suppressor pathway, characterising the protein as a regulator of gene expression and that is disturbed in many cancers. She was the first to recognize that the p53 gene encoded a transcriptional activator of other genes, and pointed out that changes to this gene are seen in over 90% of cancers. Her lab has made significant contributions by developing and analyzing mouse models to study the activities of mutant p53, revealing how these mutations drive tumor development and progression. She also found out how the Mdm2 and Mdm4 proteins work in the body, especially in stopping cancer and controlling p53. This research suggested that blocking Mdm2/4 could be a new way to treat cancer.
Roy S. Herbst is an American oncologist who is the Ensign Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pharmacology, Chief of Medical Oncology, and Associate Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Lisa M. Coussens is an American cancer scientist who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and Deputy Director for Basic and Translational Research in the Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health & Science University. She served as 2022-2023 President of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Sima Lev is an Israeli biologist and the Joyce and Ben B. Eisenberg Professorial Chair of Molecular Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. She looks to uncover the mechanisms that drive the development of triple-negative breast cancer, and to identify new therapeutic strategies. She has discovered several novel human genes including PYK2, Nir1, Nir2, and Nir3.