The 2008 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Medicine
Beth Levine, M.D.
Dr. Levine is internationally recognized as a leading authority in both the field of virus-host interactions and in the field of autophagy. She received an A.B. from Brown University, an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and completed her postdoctoral clinical and research training in Infectious Diseases/Viral Pathogenesis at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1993, she joined the faculty at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons where she became Associate Professor of Medicine. In 2004, she became the Jay P. Sanford Professor and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Early in her career, Dr. Levine discovered a novel role for antibodies in restricting intracellular viral gene expression and was among the first to demonstrate that viruses kill cells by inducing apoptosis. Subsequently, Dr. Levine identified the first mammalian autophagy protein, Beclin 1, as a Bcl-2-interacting and candidate tumor suppressor protein. This work catalyzed the development of a new area of research aimed at understanding how the lysosomal pathway of autophagy participates in fundamental biological processes and diseases. Using genetic approaches in different model organisms, Dr. Levine’s laboratory has demonstrated that Beclin 1 and autophagy function in tumor suppression, in development and lifespan extension, in innate immunity against viruses and intracellular bacteria, in protection against neurodegenerative diseases, and in cell death regulation. Her group has also identified critical roles for evolutionarily conserved antiviral and oncogenic signaling pathways in autophagy regulation. Dr. Levine has received numerous awards for her research, and is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. In 2007, she was selected to be a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator.
The 2008 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Engineering
Jennifer L. West , Ph.D.
Efforts in tissue engineering seek to address the tremendous shortage of donor tissues for transplantation procedures. Most approaches have used small samples of cells from the patient that are expanded in culture then seeded onto a scaffold material that defines the size and shape of the new tissue and provides mechanical support for the cells as they divide and synthesize new extracellular matrix (ECM). As scaffolds, investigators have generally chosen either synthetic polymers such as polylactic acid or ECM proteins such as collagen. Synthetic polymers offer better control and manipulation of material properties, ease of processing and generally better safety. Unfortunately, cell-material interactions are based on protein adsorption events and thus largely uncontrolled and somewhat variable, while ECM proteins, on the other hand, have very specific cellular interactions that can facilitate tissue formation. In order to develop scaffolds that would offer the benefits of synthetic polymers but also have specific and controlled cell-material interactions, my laboratory has developed bioactive scaffolds that can mimic some of the functions of the ECM, including proteolytic degradation, biospecific cell adhesion and presentation of growth factors. These materials are being used for generation of tissue engineered vascular grafts, as well as for engineering of microvascular networks.
The 2008 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science
Edward M. Marcotte , Ph.D.
Edward Marcotte is the William and Gwyn Shive Endowed Professor of Metabolism and Bioinformatics and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Marcotte received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1995 from the University of Texas, then spent four years as an Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Eisenberg at the University of California, Los Angeles. He co-founded the bioinformatics company Protein Pathways, before joining the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Dr. Marcotte’s research focuses on interpreting genome sequences and developing high-throughput approaches for characterizing genes, including mapping the first genome-scale gene network for any complex organism (yeast). Recent research in quantitative proteomics includes a rapid approach for measuring thousands of proteins’ abundances, as well as computational methods for predicting effects of perturbing genes and mapping multigenic causes of traits. Dr. Marcotte has received numerous awards, including a Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award (2001), a David and Lucille Packard Fellowship (2002-2007), and being chosen as Fellow of the Mr. and Mrs. Corbin J. Robertson, Sr. Regents Chair in Molecular Biology (2006-present). He co-directs the University of Texas Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology.
The 2008 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award
in Technology Innovation
Sameer Pendharkar graduated from The University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996 and is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff and manager of the High Voltage Components R&D group at Texas Instruments Inc., Dallas. The primary focus of Sameer’s research and development activities at TI is to design highly efficient, robust, reliable and cost-efficient high voltage and high power semiconductor devices and technology for the next-generation analog and high-power systems. These transistor and technology innovations are focused on building complex electronic systems in both the automotive and consumer electronics industry to help improve system efficiency, reliability and functionality. Sameer is a senior member of the IEEE and was elected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering sponsored Frontiers of Engineering Symposium in 2005. He also serves on technical committees of numerous international conferences specializing in high voltage semiconductor devices, integration and reliability.