Department of Chemistry Biochemistry& NEWSLETTER In This Issue Page Chair’s Message................2 Jorge Torres Discovers Key Role for a Motor Awards...........................2-5 Protein in Cancer Cell Proliferation Seaborg Symposium........6-7 Happenings....................7-10 Biochemistry Professor high-throughput genetic Distinguished Lectures....11-14 Jorge Torres discovered that screen that knocked the Research.......................15-17 suppressing STARD9, a proteins out one by one to In Memoriam................17-19 newly identified protein see how that affected involved in regulating cell spindle function. Calendar.........................19 division, could be a novel “The idea was to find strategy for fighting certain something that arrested the Spring 2012 cancers, as it stops malignant cells while they were Volume 31 - Number 2 cells from dividing and trying to divide and causes them to die quickly. injured them in such a way that cell death occurred quickly,” The study was published in Torres said. “We were looking for a way to attack the cancer the December 9, 2011 issue cells as they were dividing.” of Cell. From the screens, Torres and his team selected the most During the five-year promising protein. This was STARD9, a kinesin-like protein Jorge Torres study, designed to seek — a sort of molecular motor — that functions to form a targets for anti-cancer stable mitotic spindle. therapies, Torres and co-workers found that depleting “When STARD9 is depleted in the cancer cells, the STARD9 also helped the commonly used chemotherapy chromosomes attempt to align for transmission into the drug Taxol work more effectively against cancers such as daughter cells but fail,” he said. “They try for a while, but melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancers. the chromosomes are being pulled apart from different “Biology and metabolism are different in cancer cells, directions and the DNA is tearing. In the end, their DNA and check points that regulate normal cells are often condenses into a ball, and the cells die.” misregulated in cancer, allowing the malignant cells to Torres said researchers knew that STARD9 existed in divide uncontrollably,” Torres said. “Because of that, we set cells from computational analyses, but no one had out to discover new cancer targets and, more specifically, characterized its function until now. The next step will be to proteins critical for cancer cell division that we could confirm these findings in animal models by injecting mice potentially target with therapeutics.” with cancer cells and determining if depletion of STARD9 in During division, cells form a microtubule-based mitotic these cells suppresses the formation of a tumor. spindle, a highly specialized and dynamic structure that aids Torres is currently screening small molecules to find the in proper and equal chromosome transmission to the ones that effectively inhibit STARD9's function. Finding a daughter cells, Torres said. Torres and his team sought to good STARD9 inhibitor could result in a new, less toxic identify and characterize proteins necessary for spindle combination therapy for certain cancers. Because depletion assembly and therefore vital to cell division. To find the of the protein enhances the effectiveness of Taxol, Torres proteins, they performed a high-throughput proteomic hypothesized that the chemotherapy drug, which causes screen, uncovering 592 of them. Next, they performed a many serious side effects, could, (continued on p. 17) UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry - Spring 2012 CHAIR’S MESSAGE/AWARDS Sabeeha Merchant Honored by National Since I’ll be stepping down from the department chairmanship at the end of June Academy of Sciences and the Alexander Von (having completed four years of a three-year Humboldt Foundation term), I thought I might look to great farewell speeches of the past for inspiration. Several of our presidents have given inspiring farewell addresses Professor Sabeeha Merchant, whose with memorable lines, but many of these (such as research is providing insights into the Eisenhower’s “beware the military industrial complex machinery of the cell, was complex”) don’t seem particularly relevant. elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in recognition of It occurred to me that a line from a Nixon her “distinguished and continuing farewell speech, “You won’t have [Courey] to achievements in original research,” the kick around anymore,” might be more appropriate. But I think not! I’ve academy announced May 1. never been kicked around (well…almost never), but instead have been Membership in the academy is one privileged to serve as chair of a great department for these last four years. of the highest honors given to a While there have been stresses and strains, these have been more than counterbalanced by the pleasure of presiding over a department that scientist in the United States. Among regularly makes great contributions to our understanding of the natural Sabeeha Merchant its most renowned members have been world and that plays a vital role in molding the next generation of Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, scientists. I hope that, as chair, I have had some positive impact, however Thomas Edison, Orville Wright and Alexander Graham Bell. small, on the life of the department, the careers of my colleagues, and the The election of Merchant, who this year is among 84 new education of our students. members of the academy from the U.S. and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries, brings the number of current UCLA academy Some of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this job include: members to 41. Other NAS members from our department include Paul Boyer, Richard Dickerson, David Eisenberg, • Being the first to hear when our faculty and students receive much deserved recognition for their transformative discoveries, and working Mostafa El-Sayed, Juli Feigon, M. Frederick Hawthorne, Kendall to bring these discoveries to the attention of the world. Despite hard Houk, Wayne Hubbell, Raphael Levine, Howard Reiss, and Joan budgetary times, these breakthroughs continue unabated and a few of Valentine. A reception was held in honor of Merchant’s NAS our recent findings and accolades are detailed in the pages of this election on May 10, 2012. newsletter. • Having the opportunity to preside over events honoring our great faculty, students, and alumni. Recent examples include last fall’s Seaborg festivities honoring alumnus and Nobel Laureate Richard Heck (p. 6), a wonderful reception held this spring in honor of Professor Sabeeha Merchant’s election to the National Academy of Sciences (p. 2), and the upcoming departmental graduation ceremony, at which we will confer the first annual departmental alumni award upon Astronaut Anna Fisher (p. 11). • Getting to know our loyal alumni and friends. Those I’ve had the pleasure to meet include Ralph and Charlene Bauer, Atsuko and Akira Fujimoto, Philip Gabriel, Robin Genchel, Gordon Gregory, Margy Kivelson, Roger Macomber, Phyllis Parvin, Bob and Adela Smith, Judi Smith, Fraser Stoddart, Ray and Dorothy Wilson, members of the Peter, Tsay, and Winstein families, and many others far too numerous to mention. NAS Members (L to R): Wayne Hubbell, • Getting to work with our dedicated staff. This especially includes Kendall Houk, Sabeeha Merchant, Juli Feigon Chair’s Assistant Mandy Bell, without whom this job would be and David Eisenberg at the May 10 reception impossible. I’m also tremendously indebted to Chief Administrative Officer Shahla Raissi. From the moment Shahla came on board, I felt a burden lift from my shoulders as a result of her remarkable ability to Additionally, Merchant was the recipient of a 2012 Humboldt inspire the staff to give their best in support of the department. Research Award. These awards, granted by the Alexander Von With the end of this phase of my career, I will be glad to shift more of Humboldt Foundation to scientists from around the world, are my focus back to the lab and the classroom. I know that the department aimed at fostering collaborations with German scientists. With will be in great hands under the next chair and I ask you to do everything support from this award, Professor Merchant will be spending you can to help this individual in the years ahead. her sabbatical this year at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam, Germany. As great as has been our past, with your continued support, the best During her stay in Germany, Professor Merchant “intends to days for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are still to come! further develop systems biology approaches in algae and explore the functions of new proteins that are linked to the evolution of photosynthesis.” Source: UCLA Newsroom NAS Members Group Photo: Penny Jennings - 2 - UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry - Spring 2012 AWARDS 2012 Royal Society of Chemistry Gehrig's disease), as well as the role of “oxidative stress” in processes leading to human aging, cell death, and disease. Robert Robinson Award Source: UCLA Newsroom Professor Kendall Houk has been Xiangfeng Duan Honored by Office of Naval awarded the 2012 Robert Robinson Award by the Royal Society of Research and Department of Energy Chemistry. This award is for contributions to organic chemistry made by a researcher after the age of Professor Xiangfeng Duan received 55. a 2012 Office of Naval Research Young Houk received his A.B., M.S., and Investigator Award for his proposal Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University. titled “High Speed Graphene Transistors He began his academic career at with Self-Aligned Nanowire Gate.” The award includes a three-year grant to Kendall Houk Louisiana State University in 1968, and then taught at Princeton (Visiting support research efforts that hold Professor, 1975-1976) and Pittsburgh promise in advancing naval technology. (1980-1986) before coming to UCLA in 1986. He was Director of Duan’s research interests include the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation nanoscale materials, devices and their (1988-1990) and is currently the Saul Winstein Chair in Organic applications in future electronics, Chemistry at UCLA.