Stem Cell Research Pioneer to Deliver Faculty Research Lecture

The campus community is invited to hear stem cell research pioneer Gail R. Martin, PhD, professor of anatomy, deliver the Academic Senate Faculty Research Lecture The lecture is slated for Tuesday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m. in Cole Hall on the Parnassus campus. A reception will follow. The lecture will be simulcast to Rock Hall at the Mission Bay campus. Martin, director of the UCSF Program in Developmental Biology, is credited for her seminal discoveries in stem cell research. She first discovered how to keep fragile stem cells alive in a petri dish while she was working as a postdoctoral fellow at University College London in 1974. She also isolated for the first time stem cells from mouse embryos in her own lab at UCSF in 1981. These studies provided scientists with a tool that revolutionized mouse genetics by making it possible to generate mice carrying mutations in specific genes, and also pointed the way for other scientists to develop methods to isolate stem cells from human embryos and to explore their use in treating disorders. Martin points out that her work on embryonic stem cells shows how seemingly small advances in basic biology can pay off years later in unexpected ways. Many people focus on cures for specific diseases, not realizing that these cures "may come from basic research in seemingly unrelated areas. What is going to be important 20 years from now isn't clear," she says. Pioneering Spirit Martin is recognized by colleagues for her pioneering spirit. "She has shown remarkable courage and foresight in moving her research to new and uncharted areas," says colleague Thomas Kornberg, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF. "She has been willing to devote considerable resources and effort to developing new methodologies that have contributed importantly to the progress of the field." Martin also was among the first to realize that growth factors, previously identified as proteins capable of supporting cell growth in culture, have important functions during embryogenesis. She chose to focus on one family of such molecules, the fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), and demonstrated their roles as critical inductive signals in the development of many organs, including the brain, limbs and teeth. More recently, Martin's laboratory has taken the lead in studying the role of negative feedback mechanisms in regulating FGF signaling and examining the importance for embryonic patterning of controlling these potent inductive signals. A native of New York City, Martin received an AB degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a PhD degree at UC Berkeley. She then did postdoctoral work at University College London, England prior to joining the UCSF faculty in 1976. Martin has received many honors and awards, including election as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991) and the National Academy of Sciences (2002), the Edwin Grant Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology (2002), and the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize (2007). In addition, she has served as president of the Society for Developmental Biology (2006-2007). Related Links: Gail Martin's Lab