Silva and Damo won awards for Pioneering Diversity
Stephen Damo
Gustavo Silva
American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology members Stephen Damo and Gustavo Silva are among 25 researchers selected to receive the first-ever Science Diversity Leadership Awards, a new funding opportunity launched by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Damo is chair and assistant professor of life sciences and physics at Fisk University. He was recognized for his project entitled “Structure and Function Studies of the Group B Strep Mineral Flux”, which will elucidate the biochemical properties of a bacterial zinc efflux protein with a prominent role in adverse pregnancy outcomes. the Damo lab It studies how minerals modify protein functions. Damo helps write and score the ASBMB accreditation exam, and Fisk was the first historically black institution to achieve ASBMB accreditation.
Silva is an assistant professor of biology at Duke University. He is being honored for his project titled “Deciphering the Functional Ubiquitinome in Health and Disease,” which will study how ubiquitin signaling determines the physiology of neurons and proteins. the Silva Lab It is concerned with how cells respond to stresses common in infections and diseases. Silva is also a member of the ASBMB Maximizing Access Committee.
Both investigators prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in addition to training the next generation of scholars in their institutions. They have a proven track record of research, mentoring, teaching and outreach.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and NASEM honor recipients of the Science Diversity Leadership Award for their science and mentoring achievements. Each award winner will receive $1.15 million over five years to support research programs, outreach activities, mentoring, and teaching.
Sonenberg has been named to the Hall of Fame
Nahum Sonnenberg has been inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame for his discovery of the elF4E protein and his work to establish the field of translational control medicine.
Nahum Sonnenberg
Sonnenberg is Professor of Biochemistry at McGill University. the Sonnenburg Laboratory It studies the molecular basis for the control of protein synthesis and its significance in disease. In a recent discovery, the laboratory showed that inhibition of eIF4E phosphorylation reduces tumor growth and metastasis. Sonenberg is collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry to translate this discovery for use in treating patients. In addition, the lab examines mechanisms of neurotransmission control in learning and memory and in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Sonenberg has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1976, then completed postdoctoral training at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley, NJ. He is the recipient of the Robert L. Nobel Prize from the National Cancer Institute of Canada, the Killam Health Sciences Award, the Gardner Foundation International Award, the Rosenstiel Prize, and the Wolf Prize in Medicine. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2010. He is an international member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has mentored more than 160 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
Six 2023 Canadian Medicine Hall of Fame inductees will be honored in June during a ceremony at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.