Directory - Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund

Status

Year Appointed

Institution

Name

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Vito J. Palombella Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Appointed in 1989

Regulation of TNF gene expression by virus and TPA

Duojia Pan Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Appointed in 1993

Drosophila photoreceptor differentiation

Jie Pan Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 1999

Proofreading clock for initial BPS recognition

Xingjie Pan, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs - HHMI Fellow

Harvard University

Appointed in 2022

Reconstruct cell trajectories and communications in brain development

During mammalian development, coordinated cell differentiation and migration convert a simple neural tube into a brain with more than a hundred anatomical regions and probably more than a thousand cell types. How do these cell types emerge? How do cells migrate to their destined locations? How do cells communicate with each other? These are some fundamental problems in brain development.

As a postdoctoral fellow in Xiaowei Zhuang’s lab at Harvard, I develop new methods to systematically study these problems in mouse brain development. I develop new computational methods to connect cells from MERFISH spatial transcriptomics measurements into trajectories and determine cell-cell communication pathways activated in each cell. The reconstructed trajectories will allow me to comprehensively map the differentiation, maturation, and migration of individual cells. I will identify which cell-cell communication pathways are functionally crucial for generating each cell type. Then I will develop high throughput imaging-based screen methods to validate the discoveries.

Niranjan B. Pandey Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University /
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Appointed in 1991

Isolating mammalian homologues of MAT alpha1 and STE12

Scott R. Panzer Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Appointed in 1994

CYSPID: a database of properties and relationships among cytoskeletal proteins on the World Wide Web

Claude A. Paoletti Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Appointed in 1968

Identification and purification of deoxyribonucleases of E. coli

William N. Pappano Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Johns Hopkins University

Appointed in 2004

Molecular analysis of long-range Hh signaling in vivo

Frederic Paques Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Brandeis University

Appointed in 1996

Genetic and molecular study of genetic recombination

Sang-Hyun Park Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 2000

Controlling the flow of intracellular information: understanding the role of scaffolding proteins in signaling

Eunyong Park Jane Coffin Childs - HHMI Fellow

Rockefeller University

Appointed in 2013

Molecular mechanism of chloride ion transport by CLC protein family

My current research focus is on understanding molecular mechanisms of CLC proteins, ubiquitous membrane proteins that transport chloride ions across membranes. The CLC proteins are involved in various biological processes including regulation of membrane potential, electrolyte/fluid transport across epithelia, and control of intravesicular pH. Mutations in CLC genes cause many hereditary disorders in humans. An interesting aspect of the CLC family is that a common structural architecture seems to be used for both active and passive ion transport. Some CLCs are chloride channels, which provide a passive pore for chloride ion conduction, whereas others function as secondary active transporters that exchange two chloride ions for one proton. Despite recent advances in our understanding of their mechanisms, fundamental questions remain unanswered, especially regarding how exactly CLC transporters couple the transfer of chloride and proton ions and what leads to the mechanistic difference between the channels and transporters. In the MacKinnon lab, I use structural and functional approaches to address these questions.

Jung-Un Park, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs - HHMI Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Appointed in 2024

Redesigning RNA-guided DNA integration system using protein engineering

CRISPR-Cas systems have revolutionized genetic engineering and led to novel genetic medicines. As powerful as these systems are, they have some disadvantages such as their large size and a lack of orientation bias which limits their therapeutic usage. CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) are mobile genetic elements that use CRISPR-Cas systems for RNA-guided transposition. CASTs may represent the next generation of genome editors due to their enhanced features relative to CRISPR-Cas. Yet, CASTs still require further optimization to realize this potential.

Dr. Jung-Un Park will engineer novel forms of CASTs to optimize properties for genome editing in Dr. David Savage’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. Using structural biology, biochemistry, and protein engineering approaches, Dr. Park will enhance the activity of individual CAST proteins, as well as tune the functional association between different CAST proteins. Ultimately, Park’s research will provide vast insight into genome editing and may result in the next generation of gene editing technologies.

Park’s interest in CAST biology stems from his graduate work in Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg’s lab at Cornell University. There, he solved structures for CAST that informed on both RNA-guided and RNA-independent transposition. Park will leverage his extensive knowledge of CAST structural details to optimize this system for genome editing during his postdoctoral work.

Jane R. Parnes Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Massachusetts Institute of Technology /
National Institutes of Health

Appointed in 1978

In vitro splicing of adenovirus 2 mRNA

Dawn A. Parsell Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Chicago

Appointed in 1990

Function characterization of the DnaJ protein

William Pastor Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Los Angeles

Appointed in 2012

Mechanisms of Arabidopsis MORC homologues

Marvin R. Paule Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 1971

Cyclic AMP in transcription of eukaryotes

James R. Paulson Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

MRC Center, University Medical School, England

Appointed in 1977

Structure of eukaryotic chromosomes

Gregory S. Payne Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Appointed in 1982

Biochemical characterization of yeast

David S. Peabody Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Appointed in 1981

Regulation of expression of SV40 late genes

Matthew Y. Pecot Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Los Angeles

Appointed in 2006

Specificity of neuronal wiring in Drosophila

Jason P. Pellettieri Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Utah School of Medicine

Appointed in 2005

Tissue homeostasis in planarians

Richard Peltz Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Appointed in 1971

Genetic control of mitotic cycle

Harvey S. Penefsky Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Appointed in 1960

Intermediary metabolism

Ying Peng Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Appointed in 2006

System biology approach to dissecting a hierarchical signaling network

Junmin Peng Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University Medical School

Appointed in 2000

Identification of a Cdk5 inhibitor in neurogenesis

Xiao Peng Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 2012

Molecular mechanism of injury repair in 3D epithelia

Stanley M. Perlman Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University Medical School

Appointed in 1973

Vesicular stomatitis virus

C. Gustavo Pesce Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 1997

Mechanism of regulation of mitochondrial abundance

Reuben J. Peters Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Washington State University

Appointed in 1999

Structure/function of isoprenold synthases

Brant K. Peterson Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Appointed in 2008

Exploring and exploiting phenotiypic complexity to unearth the genetic architecture of adaptation and disease

Timothy Peterson Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Appointed in 2010

Discovery of commonly prescribed drug gene targets using haploid human cell genetics

Andrew S. Peterson Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 1988

Identification of genes which are involved in human disease

Thomas D. Petes Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

National Institute for Medical Research, England

Appointed in 1973

Replicating chromosomal DNA

Peter A. Petillo Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Appointed in 1992

CT-CBH1 and its carbohydrate binding properties

Matthew D. Petroski Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

California Institute of Technology

Appointed in 1999

Mechanism of SCF receptor turnover

Noah Pettit, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs - HHMI Fellow

Harvard Medical School

Appointed in 2024

Neural circuit computations underlying memory-guided navigation

In adaptive behavior, we take in information from the world around us and use that information to execute certain actions to interact with the surrounding environment. For example, successful navigation requires us to remember the spatial position of a goal and transform that information into actions that will move us towards that goal. Mechanistically, it is still unclear how neural circuits perform these computations.

Dr. Noah Pettit will approach this question using fruit fly interaction with wind direction in Dr. Rachel Wilson’s lab at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Pettit hypothesizes that specific cell types form a circuit that encodes wind direction, maintains it in memory, and transforms this information to influence body movement. Pettit will use multisensory virtual reality, two-photon imaging, and genetic silencing approaches to investigate this circuit at the cellular and molecular levels. These studies will provide a detailed description of how environmental perception is sensed, stored, and translated into action, thereby providing a general framework for understanding these computations in different systems and organisms.

Pettit generated expertise in the underlying neurobiology of spatial learning in Dr. Christopher Harvey’s lab at Harvard Medical School. During his graduate studies, he examined the role of Fos, a transcription factor implicated in memory and spatial learning. Pettit discovered that Fos-induced neurons are more likely to be place cells – cells that are activated when an animal experiences a certain place in its environment. Additionally, Pettit found that the place code degrades when mice voluntarily disengage from a spatial task, suggesting that the internal state exerts a strong influence on place cell activity. With this experience, Pettit will now transition to fruit flies and understanding how these animals transform and respond to external cues.

Cathie M. Pfleger Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Appointed in 2001

Identifying proteins involved in cell growth and division

Michael Piechowski Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Appointed in 1966

Bacteriophage maturation

Daniel W. Pierce Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Appointed in 1996

The kinesin mechanism: two heads and two directions

Vincent P. Pigiet Jr. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

Appointed in 1971

Ribonucleotide reductase in regulation and synthesis of deoxyribonuclease

Zachary S. Pincus Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Appointed in 2008

Quantitative longitudinal analysis of aging C. elegans populations

Current research: I am investigating the causes of differences in lifespan between individuals, using the nematode work Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism.

My overall scientific interest is in the control of noise in biological systems: how do organisms buffer themselves from, or exploit, stochastic events? How do individuals in a population begin to diverge from one another, and what are the consequences?

After growing up in Montana and majoring in biological sciences at Stanford University, I did my PhD training in the lab of Dr. Julie Theriot at Stanford, studying shape variability in populations of bacteria and epithelial cells. This work allowed us to devise qualitative and quantitative models of how the biochemistry of the actin cytoskeleton influences the large-scale geometry of moving cells. I am now with the lab of Dr. Frank Slack at Yale. And to the extent that postdocs permit themselves to venture outside the lab, I like to spend my time hiking and cycling.

Rachel J. Pinker Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Appointed in 1994

Interaction of oncogene products with molecular chaperones

Mark Plitt, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Appointed in 2023

Exploring mechanisms for flexible learning in higher-order neural circuits

As we learn new behaviors, we still have to remember old behaviors as well. Thus there is a tension between the flexibility in learning and the stability of maintaining behaviors. Dr. Mark Plitt proposes that neural circuits resolve this tension by using neuromodulation to adaptively switch between stable and labile states. He will investigate these questions in Dr. Yvette Fisher’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. There, Dr. Plitt will use a fly’s head direction circuit – a neuronal representation of the fly’s orientation in space – to investigate the tradeoffs between flexibility and stability. Dr. Plitt predicts that different neurotransmitters will reinforce learning and maintenance of memory. By developing this powerful model system, Dr. Plitt hopes to uncover physiological and computational principles that govern flexible learning.

As a graduate student in Dr. Lisa Giocomo’s lab at Stanford University, Plitt investigated hippocampal “place” cell remapping – a cellular process that encodes an animal’s memory-guided navigation. Specifically, Dr. Plitt demonstrated that hippocampal remapping patterns are predictably driven by an animal’s prior experience. This expertise in memory establishment will assist Dr. Plitt in investigating the tradeoff between stability and flexibility during adaptive learning.

Jessica Polka Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University Medical School

Appointed in 2013

Mobility and maintenance of a carbon-fixing microcompartment: bioengineering applications and insights into broad mechanisms of bacterial spatial organization

I am interested in the mechanisms that guide proteins to assemble into mesoscale structures, from force-generating cytoskeletal polymers to metabolic microcompartments. While the basic principles underlying these systems underpin much of biological organization, I focus on tractable polymers found in bacteria. For example, as a graduate student in Dyche Mullins¬í lab at UCSF, I reconstituted a three-component bacterial plasmid-segregating actin system in vitro and elucidated the multiple regulatory functions of its single accessory protein. As a postdoc, I have investigated the assembly of the carboxysome, a protein organelle in cyanobacteria that we found grows like a crystal until it is rapidly coated by a layer of shell proteins. Currently, I am interested in a long-range protrusive apparatus actuated by chemical changes.

I hope that a thorough understanding of these machines can permit the rational design of self-assembling structures suited for use in nanotechnology, metabolic engineering, and drug delivery.