(Press-News.org) Forward-thinking biochemist Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D., Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is the recipient of the 2024 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Biological Sciences from TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology). He was chosen for his potentially life-saving research in understanding how enzymes work. View a video on Dr. Tagliabracci's groundbreaking research here.
Dr. Tagliabracci and his team at UT Southwestern Medical Center have shined a new light on an array of physiological processes that rely on enzymes called protein kinases (PKs) and their biological cousins called “pseudokinases.” His research revealed how the virus that causes COVID-19 builds a structure called an RNA cap that’s critical for viral replication. The hope is that this discovery could lead to new strategies to attack COVID-19, which has sickened nearly 700 million and killed almost 7 million worldwide thus far.
Scientists have studied protein kinases for decades because they play critical roles in many physiological and pathological processes. Dr. Tagliabracci and his research team unabashedly study what they term “weird enzymes.” Their work on pseudokinases has disrupted the textbook view of PKs and discovered new catalytic activities performed by these enzymes.
“With a keen eye for new biology, Dr. Tagliabracci has discovered a distant family of proteins that are related to the kinase family, but are distinct, identifying them by a variety of structural characteristics,” said nominator Eric N. Olson, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), Professor and Chair, UT Southwestern Medical Center. “This family of pseudo kinases is a biological goldmine. Dr. Tagliabracci then dug deeper to try and figure out their functions. And one at a time, he has unearthed some amazingly interesting and important biology.”
Dr. Tagliabracci is one of five Texas-based researchers receiving the TAMEST 2024 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards. Each are chosen for their individual contributions addressing the essential role that science and technology play in society, and whose work meets the highest standards of exemplary professional performance, creativity and resourcefulness.
“The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards bring together a broad group of disciplines and expertise and create the space to talk about cross-disciplinary approaches to future solutions – and we couldn’t be prouder of this year’s group of innovative recipients,” said Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards Committee Chair Oliver Mullins, Ph.D. (NAE), SLB Fellow, SLB. “These researchers are transforming the future of science and innovation in our state, and these awards are an important mechanism for maintaining a link between academia and industry and moving the research needle forward for our society.”
Over $1.5 million has been awarded to more than 75 recipients in the categories of Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology Innovation since the inception of the O'Donnell Awards in 2006. Sixteen O’Donnell Awards Recipients have gone on to be elected to the National Academies, including four who hold dual academy elections.
Dr. Tagliabracci will be recognized at the 2024 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, and will give a presentation on his research preceding the award ceremony at the TAMEST 2024 Annual Conference: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Austin, Texas, at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center.
All are encouraged to attend the ceremony and the TAMEST Conference.
Full list of 2024 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Awards Recipients:
• Medicine: Benjamin Deneen, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
• Engineering: Ashok Veeraraghavan, Ph.D., Rice University
• Biological Sciences: Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Physical Sciences: Shengqian Ma, Ph.D., University of North Texas
• Technology Innovation: Kimberly A. Hambuchen, Ph.D., NASA Johnson Space Center
About the O’Donnell Awards:
The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards annually recognize rising star Texas researchers who are addressing the essential role that science and technology play in society, and whose work meets the highest standards of exemplary professional performance, creativity and resourcefulness.
Thanks to a $1.15 million gift from the O’Donnell Foundation in 2022, the O’Donnell Awards have expanded to include an additional science award. The awards now recognize recipients in the categories of Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology Innovation. (Previously, the TAMEST O’Donnell Awards rotated its science award between physical and biological sciences every year.)
The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards are made possible by the O’Donnell Awards Endowment Fund, established in 2005 through the generous support of several individuals and organizations. View a full list of supporters here.
About TAMEST:
TAMEST was co-founded in 2004 by the Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison and Nobel Laureates Michael S. Brown, M.D., and Richard E. Smalley, Ph.D. With more than 335 members and 22 member institutions, TAMEST is composed of the Texas-based members of the three National Academies (National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences), the Royal Society and the state’s eight Nobel Laureates. We bring together the state’s brightest minds in medicine, engineering, science and technology to foster collaboration, and to advance research, innovation and business in Texas.
TAMEST’s unique interdisciplinary model has become an effective recruitment tool for top research and development centers across Texas. Since our founding, more than 275 TAMEST members have been inducted into the National Academies or relocated to Texas.
###
END
A worldwide leader in nanoporous materials research, Shengqian Ma, Ph.D., Professor and Welch Chair in Chemistry, the University of North Texas, is the recipient of the 2024 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Physical Sciences from TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology). He was chosen for his innovative work in the field of decontamination. View a video on Dr. Ma's groundbreaking research here.
In a time of growing concern for the Earth and humanity’s ecosystem, Dr. Ma’s work could have an incredibly important impact on environmental and energy sustainability. His research was primarily ...
A true pioneer in space, robotics engineer Kimberly A. Hambuchen, Ph.D., Deputy Chief, Software, Robotics and Simulation Division at NASA Johnson Space Center, is the recipient of the 2024 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Technology Innovation from TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology). She was chosen for her seminal research in developing new methods for making robots more autonomous and usable by humans across a time delay. View a video on Dr. Hambuchen's groundbreaking research here.
Dr. Hambuchen’s research focuses on human-robot ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Teens from larger families have poorer mental health than those with fewer siblings, according to a large analysis of children in the United States and China.
The details of the pattern vary depending on factors such as the spacing of sibling ages and the age of the siblings.
But the fact that the overall pattern was found in both countries is striking, said Doug Downey, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.
“Our results couldn’t have been easily predicted before we did the study,” Downey said.
“Other studies have shown that having more siblings ...
The origin of the vertebrate skull is a topic of much debate among evolutionary biologists. Some believe that the vertebrate head has developed as a result of modification of the segmental elements of the trunk, such as the vertebrae and somites. On the other hand, others believe that the vertebrate head has evolved as a new, unsegment body part, unrelated to other widely observed embryonic segments somites. Interestingly, previous studies on embryos have revealed the presence of some vestiges of somites ...
Procambarus clarkii is a crustacean species native to American freshwater bodies. Brought to Japan in the 1920s as a feed for frogs, this crustacean has slowly taken over the Japanese freshwaters by predation and propagation. In fact, in 2023, the red-swamp crayfish was designated as an invasive alien species by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
One way to control the growth in population of red-swamp crayfish and the accompanying crisis is to capture the red-swamp crayfish in their reproductive ...
Research Highlights:
Despite drops in overall cardiovascular disease deaths from 1999-2019, cardiovascular disease deaths in which substance use was cited as a contributing factor increased an average of 4% per year, with the death rate accelerating to 6.2% from 2012-2019.
Prominent increases in cardiovascular deaths associated with substance use were most notable among women, American Indian or Alaskan individuals, younger individuals, rural area residents and users of cannabis and psychostimulants.
Identifying high-risk groups is crucial for prioritizing preventive measures to reduce substance use linked with cardiovascular disease deaths, particularly ...
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Sequencing all of the RNA in a cell can reveal a great deal of information about that cell’s function and what it is doing at a given point in time. However, the sequencing process destroys the cell, making it difficult to study ongoing changes in gene expression.
An alternative approach developed at MIT could enable researchers to track such changes over extended periods of time. The new method, which is based on a noninvasive imaging technique known as Raman spectroscopy, doesn’t harm cells and can be performed repeatedly.
Using ...
HOUSTON – (Jan. 10, 2023) – The brain is the most protected organ in the body, sheathed in a complex and nearly impenetrable barrier of specialized blood vessels. While this particular anatomical setup protects it from outside invaders, it also makes it difficult for researchers to study how specific genes are expressed ⎯ and how such changes in gene expression may lead to disease.
Now Rice University scientists have developed a noninvasive way to monitor gene expression dynamics in the brain, making it easier to investigate brain ...
Barcelona, 10 January 2024 – Mutations, which occur continuously in every cell of our bodies, are a key contributor to cancer, ageing, and neurodegeneration. While exposure to mutagenic chemicals, or mistakes in cellular processes during DNA replication contribute to these mutations, the exact distribution and patterns of these changes across human chromosomes have remained a mystery until now.
Dr. Fran Supek, ICREA researcher and head of the Genome Data Science lab at IRB Barcelona, and Marina Salvadores, PhD student ...
New research has revealed how light can be used to destroy infectious coronavirus particles that contaminate surfaces. Scientists are interested in how environments, such as surgeries, can be thoroughly disinfected from viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
SARS-CoV-2 viral particles are composed of a core of nucleic acid chains that contain the genetic information of the virus, surrounded by a lipid membrane with proteinous spikes sticking out. Each component is necessary for infection.
Researchers from the University of Southampton investigated how ultraviolet laser light destroys the virus by impacting each of these critical components. By using a specialised ...
