Directory - Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund

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Thomas D. Sargent, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

National Institutes of Health

Project Title: Regulation of mRNA in embryonic Xenopus

Marissa Saunders, Ph.D. HHMI-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Utah

Project Title: ESCRT-III mediated membrane scission

Computational modeling will be coupled with experiment to investigate the mechanism by which Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport (ESCRT)-III complexes remodel and sever membranes. The ESCRT pathway relates to cancer pathogenesis by: mediating downregulation of membrane-bound receptors; catalyzing the abscission stage of cytokinesis; and controlling exosome formation. Of the five essential core ESCRT complexes, the ESCRT-III complex uniquely encodes the membrane severing activity. ESCRT-III subunits form filaments that can bind membranes, selforganize into higher-order assemblies, and use these assemblies to constrict membranes and promote fission. Newly emerging cryo-EM reconstructions of ESCRT-III assemblies make it possible to create the first models of these systems that incorporate discrete subunit structures. Using these models, we will investigate: how these filaments form rings with different diameters; how membrane interactions and curvature affect filament structure; and how lateral interactions between adjacent filaments accommodate changes in curvature. Experimental measurements of the physical properties of wild type and mutant ESCRT-III filaments will be used to validate these models and test their predictive power. This integration of experiment and theory should identify, at a fundamental level, properties driving ESCRT-III-mediated membrane remodeling and fission.

Stanley O. Sawicki, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Rockefeller University

Project Title: Messenger RNA

Robert C. Sawyer, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Rockefeller University

Project Title: Genetics of avian RNA tumor viruses

Peter H. Sayre , M.D., Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Project Title: Thymidylate synthase and structure-based drug design

Shelley Sazer, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Oxford

Project Title: Isolation and characterization of fission yeast cell division cycle mutant

George A. Scangos, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Project Title: Gene transfer

Jerome B. Schaack, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Princeton University

Project Title: Physical aspects of adenovirus (AD) which affect AD gene expression

James A. Schafer, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Frankfurt

Project Title: Amino acid transport in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Image of Christian E. Schafmeister, Ph.D.

Christian E. Schafmeister, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Understanding the molecular basis of 8-oxo-G repair

Thomas E. Schaus, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Intelligent drug delivery by dynamic nucleic acid nano-devices

Paul F. Schendel, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Cancer Research UK (CRUK)

Project Title: Replication of herpes virus in isolated nuclei

James W. Schilling, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Project Title: Mechanisms of amplification of folate reductase genes

Daniel G. Schindler, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Project Title: Neutron scattering of the E. coli ribosome

Nicole Schirle, Ph.D. HHMI-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Project Title: Characterization of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex

Polytopic membrane proteins undergo a complicated folding process, whereby they must be co-translationally targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for maturation and export to cellular membranes. While our understanding of the chaperones involved in soluble protein folding has rapidly expanded, there is little known about the chaperones dedicated to folding and quality control of membrane proteins. Recently, a conserved ER membrane protein complex (EMC) was discovered from a genetic screen in yeast aimed at identifying genes that disrupt the ER protein folding environment. Genetic interaction patterns arising from deletion of the EMC and preliminary biochemical data suggest the EMC may function as a chaperone for polytopic membrane proteins. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Frost and Weissman laboratories at UCSF, I plan to use a combination of approaches ranging from cryo-electron microscopy to genetics and cell biology to elucidate how the EMC affects membrane protein topology in yeast and human cells.

Anne-Loire Schlaitz, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Project Title: The role of organelle-microtubule linker proteins in the spatial organization of the cell

Robert A. Schlegel, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia

Project Title: Messenger RNA's coding for antibody globulins

Gavin Schlissel, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Whitehead Institute

Project Title: Understanding extracellular modifiers of morphogen signaling

Animals rely on effective coordination of cell behavior in all phases of their development and lifespan. Cells communicate to coordinate their activity using several physical or chemical communication strategies, which are often interdependent. One communication strategy central in development and in adult animals relies on secreted signaling proteins that bind membrane-tethered receptors in diverse target tissues to affect cell identity or behavior. Whereas we understand in great detail how signals are synthesized, secreted, received and processed, we understand comparatively very little about how signals travel from their origin to their destination. I use molecular genetic and synthetic biology tools in cultured mammalian cells to reconstitute cell signaling events, and I use these reconstituted signaling pathways to understand how secreted protein signals navigate the extracellular environment in developing or adult tissues.

Carl W. Schmid, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

California Institute of Technology

Project Title: Structure of attachment site of lambda phage in the bacterial chromosome

Jennifer V. Schmidt, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Princeton University

Project Title: H19: The function of a noncoding RNA

David A. Schneider, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Irvine

Project Title: Characterizing regulators of Pol 1 in yeast

Walter C. Schneider, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Wisconsin, Madison /
Rockefeller Institute

Project Title: Enzymatic studies of nucleic acids

Lynne E. Schneider, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Carnegie Institution for Science

Project Title: Regulation of developmental arrest in oogenesis

Alexandra Schnell, Ph.D. HHMI-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Whitehead Institute

Project Title: Origin and function of macrophage heterogeneity in the tumor

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the most abundant innate immune cell type in tumors. TAMs can either inhibit or support tumor progression, though it is unclear how their dichotomous functions are regulated. Dr. Alexandra Schnell predicts that the functional heterogeneity of TAMs may be due to distinct lineage origins and cell plasticity. To investigate these hypotheses, Dr. Schnell is developing a myeloid-specific lineage tracing tool to track TAM heterogeneity in tumors, and in response to immunotherapies. Schnell will conduct these experiments in Dr. Jonathan Weissman’s and Dr. Kipp Weiskopf’s labs at the Whitehead Institute. By better understanding TAM heterogeneity, Schnell hopes to enable the development of TAM-targeted cancer immunotherapies that specifically target tumor-promoting macrophages.

During her PhD, Schnell studied the fundamental mechanisms of the immune system in Dr. Vijay Kuchroo’s lab at Harvard Medical School. There, Dr. Schnell performed lineage tracing of immune cells during autoimmune inflammation. Her studies provided a mechanism for how homeostatic intestinal immune cells act as a reservoir for pathogenic inflammation elsewhere in the body. With this background in immunity and lineage tracing, Dr. Schnell will now investigate how the heterogeneity of tumor immune cells can be leveraged to generate new cancer immunotherapies.

Markus Schober, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Rockefeller University

Project Title: Asymmetric versus symmetric divisions in stem cells

Glen M. Scholz, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Rockefeller University

Project Title: Characterizing the activation of YAP kinase by v-Src

Courtney M. Schroeder, Ph.D. Merck-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Project Title: Do genetic conflicts shape the actin cytoskeleton in eukaryotes?

I am interested in how evolution has shaped the eukaryotic actin cytoskeleton. The actin cytoskeleton is a critical force-generating polymer that powers fundamental cellular processes, including cell motility, vesicle transport and cytokinesis. Despite actins being among the most highly conserved proteins in eukaryotes, a number of actin variants and their regulators show strong signatures of genetic innovation in Drosophilids. Birth and death of novel actins have occurred between lineages and a few actin genes appear to rapidly evolve, suggestive of positive selection. Using genetic, evolutionary and cell biological analyses, I am investigating the evolutionary causes and functional consequences of genetic changes among components of the actin cytoskeleton with Drosophila melanogaster as the model organism. Exploring the actin cytoskeleton and its regulation from an evolutionary vantage will provide insight into the selective pressure on actins and how it is harnessed in many cellular processes.

Charles M. Schroeder, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Single molecule kinetics of reverse transcriptase

Howard Schulman, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Project Title: Cyclic nucleotides and synaptic transmission

Ernest Schwartz, M.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Columbia University

Project Title: Nucleic acid metabolism

Edmund C. Schwartz, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Columbia University

Project Title: Development of optogenetic tools to probe the formation of social memory

I am developing methods to control gene expression and recombination with light. ¬†This will allow greater spatial and temporal control than can be achieved with current genetic and chemical methods.

I majored in chemistry and biology at the University of Virginia, where I worked in the lab of Michael Timko. I discovered that, even though I was studying an algae that most people have never heard of, it was still really cool to be the first in the world to know something. ¬†Also, during my first year, the UVA football team was briefly ranked in the top ten, an accomplishment which I can only assume was thanks to my presence. ¬†In graduate school at Rockefeller University, I did my research in the laboratory of Tom Muir, playing with molecular legos for five and a half years and getting a PhD out of that experience as a bonus. ¬†Currently I¬ím in Richard Axel¬ís lab at Columbia, where I feel a little out of place among the real biologists. ¬†All my time outside of work is now taken up chasing around a two-year-old.

Arthur G. Schwartz, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Oxford

Project Title: Control of DNA synthesis in normal and malignant cells

Dianne S. Schwarz, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Regulation of ribosomal protein gene expression

Shelley A. Schwarzbaum, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Project Title: Regulation of IgE production by fceR bearing lymphocytes

Maria Lucila Scimone, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Whitehead Institute

Project Title: Stem cell potential and regulation in planarian regeneration

Kenneth A. Scott, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Yale University

Project Title: Mechanism of action of acetylcholine

David W. Scott, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Oxford

Project Title: In vitro and in vivo studies of mechanism of tolerance induction

Walter A. Scott, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, San Francisco

Project Title: Gene transcription

Trey J. Scott, Ph.D Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Secretory cell innovation in a symbiotic interaction

Social interactions between distinct species are important at ecological scales yet are mediated at the molecular level by the transfer of biomolecules such as small chemicals and proteins between organisms. Symbiosis is an example of a relationship among species where both species benefit from a social behavior or interaction.

Dr. Trey Scott will examine the symbiotic relationship between butterfly larvae in the Lycaenidae family and ants in Dr. Naomi Pierce’s lab at Harvard University. Lycaenid caterpillars secrete nutritious and psychoactive substances that are ingested by ants. Ants, in return, protect their renewable food source, the caterpillar, during its vulnerable developmental stage. Dr. Scott will determine the molecular, cellular, and evolutionary bases for this example of symbiosis. Scott’s research will provide novel insight into social interactions, broadly speaking, including their evolution.

Scott examined social interactions as a graduate student in Dr. Joan Strassmann’s and Dr. David Queller’s labs at Washington University. Although the above example of symbiosis between ants and Lycaenid butterflies is relatively straightforward, most examples of social interactions contain context-dependent elements of both cooperation and conflict. Using Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae and Paraburkholderia bacteria as a model for social interactions, Scott discovered that the bacteria may benefit or be harmed by the amoebae depending on current environmental conditions – in this case, rainfall. Scott proposed that this flexibility helps the amoebae host survive in harsh soils with variable prey. Furthermore, Scott showed how long-term social interactions influence evolutionary adaptation. With this extensive background in social interactions, Scott is poised to make breakthroughs investigating the evolution of symbiosis between butterflies and ants during his postdoctoral research.

Heidi Scrable, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Cincinnati

Project Title: Construction of an experimental neurocristopathy

Sally S. Seaver, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Institut de Chimie Biologique

Project Title: Hormonal regulation of transcription of a gene

W. David Sedwick, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Project Title: Isolation and characterization of DNA polymerases

Mark A. Seeger, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of California, Berkeley

Project Title: Cell recognition during neuronal development

Charles H. Seiter, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Stanford University

Project Title: Magnetic resonance of ribonuclease folding

David A. Selinger, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

University of Oregon

Project Title: Elements involved in tissue-specific gene expression

Daniel Semlow, Ph.D. HHMI-Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard Medical School

Project Title: Mechanism of incision-independent interstrand cross-link repair

Changwoo Seo, Ph.D. Jane Coffin Childs Fellow

Harvard University

Project Title: Neural mechanisms of taste and visceral signal integration in the brainstem

The periaqueductal grey (PAG) plays a critical role in the generation of complex social and defensive behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which transcriptionally distinct cell types and their neural dynamics within the PAG are organized to produce these behaviors are poorly understood. In this study, we used miniaturized 2-photon microscopy to record the neural activity of the PAG in behaving mice as they engaged in social and defensive behaviors. We aim to combine this information with imaging-based spatial transcriptomics, to better understand how the gene expression patterns of different neurons contribute to the functional organization of the PAG, and the regulation of social and defensive behaviors.