Faculty Promotions Announced

Faculty promotions were announced at a recent meeting of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Board of Directors.

They include:

  • Helen Jane Dyson, promoted to full professor in the Department of Molecular Biology. Dyson (B.Sc., Ph.D., University of Sydney), who has been with TSRI since 1984, has focused her studies on two major themes: the understanding of how the amino acid sequence of a protein determines its final folded structure and the understanding of enzyme and protein function through the study of structure and dynamics.

  • David Millar, promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Department of Molecular Biology. Millar (B.Sc., Melbourne University; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology), who began at TSRI in 1987, conducts research in the area of biophysical chemistry. Millar uses ultra-fast laser spectroscopy and single molecule fluorescence techniques to study the mechanisms of action of ribozymes and DNA polymerases, focusing on dynamic structural changes that underlie the catalytic activity of these enzymes.

  • David S. Goodsell, promoted to associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biology. Goodsell (B.S., University of California, Irvine; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles) first started working at TSRI in 1987. He combines computer graphics and computational chemistry.

  • Michael Robertson, promoted to associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine. Robertson (B.A., Case Western Reserve University; Ph.D., University of Illinois) has been a member of TSRI since 1990. His research focuses on the study of structure-dependent function of immunoglobulin E (IgE) and the multisubunit high affinity IgE receptor (FceRI), molecules that are central components involved in generating common allergic responses such as hayfever and allergic asthma.

  • David Schlaepfer, promoted to associate professor in the Department of Immunology. Schlaepfer (B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., University of California, Irvine), who has been at TSRI since 1996, studies the role of tyrosine kinase signaling events promoting cell motility and invasion with regard to both normal and cancer cell biology. The emphasis has been elucidating the role of integrin-stimulated focal adhesion kinase activation.

  • Paul Wentworth Jr., promoted to associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. Wentworth (BSc. and Ph. D. University of Sheffield, England) has been a member of TSRI since 1994. His research interests include probing the chemical biology of the intrinsic oxidation pathway of immunoglobulins, programmable biocatalysis, and polymer-supported chemistry.

  • Antoine Tabarin, promoted to adjunct associate professor in the Department of Neuropharmacology. Tabarin (M.D., University of Bordeaux II), who recently spent a sabbatical year at TSRI, is also a professor of endocrinology and metabolic diseases at the University of Bordeaux Medical School (Bordeaux II) and chair of the Department of Endocrinology at the University of Bordeaux Hospital. His findings at TSRI included a knockout of the mu opioid receptor that causes resistance to the weight gain and neuroendocrine sequelae that form a premorbid diabetes-like state associated with ingestion of a high-fat diet.

  • Dan J. Von Seggern, promoted to assistant professor in the Department of Immunology. A member of TSRI since 1994, Von Seggern (B.S., University of Washington, Seattle; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is primarily interested in improved vectors for gene therapy. He previously generated a system for retargeting adenovirus, and is now using the technology to develop therapies for cancer and for retinal degenerations. A second area of investigation is receptor usage by the adenovirus family, and its relationship to the pathologies caused by these viruses.

  • Anita D. Wentworth, promoted to assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. Wentworth (BSc. and Ph. D. University of Sheffield, England) has been affiliated with TSRI since 1997. Her research focuses on the kinetic and thermodynamic basis of antibody biocatalysis.

 


Helen Jane Dyson has been promoted to full professor. Photo by Jason Socrates Bardi.