Roger Tsien, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, will share the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and Boston University School of Medicine, and Martin Chalfie of Columbia University in New York. The scientists are being honored for the discovery of Green Flourescent Protein (GFP) and seminal work to design and create fluorescent molecules that enter cells and light up their inner workings.

“Our work is often described as building and training molecular spies – molecules that will enter a cell or organism and report back to us what the conditions are, what’s going on with the biochemistry, while the cell is still alive,” said Tsien, who is also a member of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center.

In particular, his laboratory has engineered dyes that gently infiltrate their target, without disrupting or harming the cell, opening new windows into cellular function. He and his collaborators also improved and modified Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) from jellyfish and analogous red fluorescent proteins from corals to track a wide variety of cell signals. Tsien’s methods have led to new opportunities to monitor and image multiple molecular processes simultaneously, in all sizes and types of cells, without disrupting cell function.

“We not only build protein molecules to send into cells, but we also teach cells to make their own dyes,” said Tsien. “These proteins are trained from birth to be our eyes and ears inside the cells.”

The fluorescent proteins have been used by scientists worldwide to track where and when certain genes are expressed in cells or in whole organisms. Most recently, he has begun to build on this work to develop a novel way to image and possibly even deliver specially targeted drugs to cancer tumors.

“Dr. Tsien’s work has, and will continue to have, an enormous impact on human health by enabling researchers to study cells related to disease in detailed ways that had never before been possible,” said David Brenner, M.D., Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Dean, UCSD School of Medicine.

Tsien is a member of the Institute of Medicine, which advises the nation on improving health, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among his many awards and recognitions, he also received the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine from the Robarts Institute in London, Ontario (2005); was co-recipient of the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science in 2006; and was elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London in 2006.

To read the full article, go to http://health.ucsd.edu. If you don’t see the article you are looking for, click on Archived News Releases on the left side of the page.

Links to stories about Roger Tsien:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/03-07Biobridge.asp
http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/tsien_bio.html

Images: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/NobelPrize08.asp

Six UC San Diego physicians and professors were among 37 honorees recognized October 23 at the San Diego Business Journal’s (SDBJ) 15th Annual “Women Who Mean Business” Awards.

Jody Corey-Bloom, M.D., Ph.D. , Director of the UC San Diego Multiple Sclerosis Center and UC San Diego Huntington's Disease Center of Excellence

Sandra Daley, M.D. , Associate Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) for UC San Diego Health Sciences

Amanda Gosman, M.D. , Director of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, UC San Diego Division of Plastic Surgery

Nancy Graff, M.D. , Clinical professor, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Barbara Parker, M.D. , Medical Director of Oncology Services at UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer and UC San Diego Medical Centers

Maria Luisa Zuniga, Ph.D. , Assistant Professor, Division of International Health and Cross-Cultural Medicine, UC San Diego Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

SDBJ recognized these local women for their “…outstanding contributions to business, the government and the San Diego Community.”

“This year’s honorees represent the diversity of San Diego business and are shining examples of how women are contributing to all sectors of the economy,” said SDBJ President and Publisher Armon Mills.

“The foundation of UC San Diego Medical Center is built on a number of pillars but the most important pillar is the people,” said UC San Diego Medical Center CEO Richard Liekweg. “These women exemplify our dedication to new leadership, caring for patients, teaching students and being outstanding and valued members of the community.”

“This distinguished group of women represents UC San Diego at its best… working, living, teaching, impacting our community, influencing the nation, with a reach that extends around the globe” said David Brenner, M.D. , Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at UC San Diego.