Prof. Elizabeth Blackburn, 2008 Laureate and 2009 Nobel Prize awardee, for the discovery of the nature and maintenance of chromosome ends and their roles in cancer and aging
12/03/2008
“For the discovery of the nature and maintenance of chromosome ends and their roles in cancer and aging”
Who she is. Prof. Elizabeth Blackburn is a Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology & Physiology, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Born in Australia, Elizabeth Blackburn earned a PhD from Cambridge University and did her postdoctoral work at Yale University. She has received dozens of awards throughout her career, including the prestigious 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the 2007 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science. In 2007, she was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”, and in 2009 she received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
What she does. With the population aging in all regions of the globe and life expectancy rising from year to year, the multi-faceted process of aging is a rich and important area of scientific inquiry. Elizabeth Blackburn has devoted her scientific career to the study of telomerase and telomeres, which are essential to protecting genetic information in the chromosomes and play a key role in aging and disease. Through her pioneering work in the field of telomere biology, she has greatly contributed to advancing the understanding of aging and cancer at the level of our chromosomes. In 1985, Elizabeth Blackburn and her graduate student, Carol Greider, reported the discovery of telomerase, the enzyme that restores the ends of chromosomes by replenishing telomeres, which are the protective caps that seal off these chromosome ends. Her findings gave rise to an entirely new view of how the lifespan of normal cells is regulated and how that regulation goes awry in cancer cells.
Manipulating telomerase activity as a therapeutic tool. Professor Blackburn’s research has opened up a new area of inquiry into potential cancer therapies that would block production of the telomerase enzyme and thus hinder the cells’ ability to replicate. The opposite approach could be considered for the treatment of age-related and neurodegenerative diseases: reactivating the enzyme to prolong cell life. Both scientists and biotech companies are very interested in exploring these areas of research. Professor Blackburn and her colleagues have recently reported that chronic psychological stress takes a toll on telomerase. Stress reduces the restorative effect of telomeres, decreasing the cell’s capacity for self-renewal. This finding has implications for how stress may promote the earlier onset of age-related disease. Additionally, they have shown that low telomerase levels are a risk factor in human cardiovascular disease.
What she says. The appeal of science. As a child, Elizabeth Blackburn found science alluring. She was intrigued by animals and was naturally curious. “I loved science because it was a secure and fair world, a place in which you know how things stand.” In her family tree were several scientists. Hawaii’s largest native insect, the Blackburn’s sphinx moth, is named after one of her 19th century ancestors who collected butterflies. Her great-grandfather and her grandfather were geologists, and both her mother and father were family physicians. As the second of seven children, “The encouragement I got from my mother was important in leading me to have a career. I had the idea that women could and would do professional and important work.” Elizabeth Blackburn admired Marie Curie, whose biography she read several times, and a beautifully illustrated book about science by Jacob Bronowski. Her high school chemistry and biology teachers also strengthened her penchant for science: “They made the subjects interesting and fun, despite learning with very dry textbooks.” One of the most exciting moments in her career was the first glimmer of the existence of telomerase. “Various lines of evidence were pointing to the possibility of a new enzyme that added telomeric DNA to chromosome ends. I started experiments to see if I could work out conditions that might uncover such an activity, and found the first indications that it existed.”
What has changed for women in science, and what has not. Young women are increasingly choosing to study science today, and women complete postdoctoral research in equal numbers as men. And yet their situation remains discouraging in some respects: “What has not changed is that the applications by women for the best jobs in science are not proportionately high, and women are grossly underrepresented in such jobs, especially as one goes up the ranks.” Many women still encounter discrimination and are, in fact, surprisingly vulnerable. “Even when women are accomplished scientists, discriminatory remarks can have a devastating effect. The vulnerable early stage of being a scientist is one where a young woman can be especially impacted. What does a young person who does not have a career of achievements and recognition to fall back on or do for reassurance?”. A strong base of support is also very important for a young woman to enjoy her life as a scientist and the challenges it brings. “Find people who will support you psychologically. Do not underestimate the importance of the resilience you will need for a demanding career.”
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