Roger Tsien
by Sharon Brock
What happens to molecules in time and space during interesting cellular processes?
With this question as his center point, UC San Diego pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roger Y. Tsien, PhD, presented his groundbreaking research at UCSF's Mission Bay campus on Monday, May 8.
More than 200 students and researchers crowded into the Mahley Auditorium to hear Tsien's lecture, entitled "Building Molecules to Spy on Cells and Tumors," and to learn more about the intricacies and consequences of cell signaling.
Tsien's research is particularly notable because he has constructed molecules that literally report and perturb signals between cells and that do so in a way that makes them observable under an electron microscope at higher resolutions.
Many labs have followed Tsien's techniques and have achieved new insights into signal transduction regarding membrane potential, export of proteins from the nucleus, gene transcription and other complex processes.
Tsien plans to apply his techniques to the study of widespread diseases.
Cancer researchers, for example, can use Tsien's techniques to construct molecules that selectively accumulate in diseased tissues. Indeed, Tsien has already used Gd3+ labels to locate tumors throughout the body of a mouse. He hopes Gd3+ labeling will be used in the future to contrast with MRI results.
The directors of the Gladstone Distinguished Lecture Series have showcased one preeminent scientist per year, since 1993, to discuss their research with the UCSF community.
"This year, we chose Dr. Tsien because his research has unraveled signaling pathways in diverse types of cells, and he has created innovative tools, such as new molecular probes, to advance capabilities in the lab," said Lennart Mucke, MD, director of the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease.
