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Janeway elected to NAS Charles A. Janeway, Jr., M.D., professor of immunobiology, biology and dermatology, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences during its annual meeting in May, for distinguished and continued achievements in original research. Janeway is known for both his theoretical insights in understanding immune responses and his experimental skills and was first to advocate that new thought be given to the role of inherited defense against common microorganisms. Janeway theorized that innate immunity is the body’s first line of defense against infection before the body’s adaptive immune system takes up the battle. Janeway, co-author of one of the leading textbooks in immunology, recently attended his daughter’s graduation from medical school, making her the fifth consecutive generation in his family to enter medicine.
Doudna receives Waterman Award Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D., professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, whose leading work in structural biology provided an answer to how RNA can act like an enzyme, has been awarded the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation. The award, instituted by Congress, is made each year to an outstanding scientist or engineer, 35 or younger, and includes a grant of $500,000 over three years for scientific research or advanced study in any field of science. She is the 25th recipient of the award, established in 1976, and only the third woman to be so honored. Her work explains how RNA can act like an enzyme to catalyze specific biochemical reactions and how polyanionic RNA forms a three-dimensional structure. Doudna’s most recent work has to do with the structure of the signal recognition particle, showing how this recognition takes place on a molecular level. A colleague who nominated Doudna for the award, Professor Joan Steitz, also of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, said, “There can be no question that her pioneering accomplishments have changed the way the scientific community thinks about RNA molecules. Such exceptional achievements are precisely what the Waterman Award was created to recognize.” Doudna’s
laboratory is continuing to build on the RNA research, focusing
on two questions: how RNA played a role in evolution, and what
can be learned about how life evolved by looking at RNA protein
machines that exist in modern biology. School
of Medicine faculty The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering recently announced the election of new members, including several faculty members. Gabor Huszar, M.D., senior research scientist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., professor of pediatrics and pediatric neurology; and John F. Tallman, Ph.D., associate professor adjunct of psychiatry at Yale and executive vice president and scientific director of Neurogen Corporation. Joseph S. Fruton, Ph.D., the Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and senior research scholar in the history of medicine received the 1999 Association of American Publishers Professional/Scholarly Publishing Award in the History of Science and Technology for his book Proteins, Enzymes, Genes: The Interplay of Chemistry and Biology. The book was published by Yale University Press in 1999. Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry, was awarded a degree of doctor honoris causa in biology, in March, from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Fuki M. Hisama, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, received the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar in Aging Research Award from the American Federation for Aging Research in April. The award provides $450,000 in research funding over three years to outstanding junior physician faculty committed to academic careers in aging-related research, teaching and practice. The focus of Hisama’s research is Werner syndrome. People with this syndrome begin to age rapidly in their late teens and early 20s. The disease, named for the German physician Otto Werner, is rare and caused by a mutation in a single gene. Frederic L. Holmes, Ph.D., Avalon Professor and chair of the Section of History of Medicine, was elected one of 47 new members of the American Philosophical Society (APS), at its annual general meeting held in Philadelphia in April. Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743, the APS is the oldest learned society in the United States devoted to the advancement of scientific and scholarly inquiry. Holmes has written six books and countless articles in which he explores how major discoveries are made. “Knowledge is cumulative,” he said, noting that all research depends on what came before. Marina A. Picciotto, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, was one of 60 young researchers presented the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government to young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The annual awards, established by President Clinton in February 1996, were presented in April in a White House ceremony. Picciotto received the award for research that identified a molecular receptor in the brain that is believed to be responsible for nicotine addiction. Albert J. Solnit, M.D., has retired after nine years as commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, but he remains active. Gov. John Rowland has appointed him chair of a commission that is examining the state’s mental health services. Solnit also continues to work in the Yale Child Study Center, where he teaches, sees patients and conducts research. “As you get older, work is a good friend,” says Solnit, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics. “You may get tired, but you won’t be lonely.” The Stolwijk Fellowship has been established in honor of Jan A.J. Stolwijk, Ph.D., professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. Each year up to three fellowships of $2,500 will be awarded to students completing their first full year in the master’s program in public health. Robert I.
White, M.D.,
professor and past chair of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology,
received a 2000 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Cardiovascular
and Interventional Radiology. White, director of the Cardiovascular
Diagnostic Laboratories at Johns Hopkins University Hospital
for 17 years, led the development of therapies for two congenital
heart diseases: pulmonary valvular stenosis and aortic coarctation.
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