Boston University

A Word from Dr. Theresa Good, Acting Division Director

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As many of you may know, our Division Director, Dr. Linda Hyman, recently returned to her previous position as Associate Provost for the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University. Linda led MCB through some difficult times: the death of a dear friend and colleague, Dr. Kamal Shukla; the retirement of a dedicated colleague and advocate for the synthetic biology community, Dr. Susanne Von Bodman; and the transition of a number of staff members into different roles within the Foundation and elsewhere in federal service. From all of us at MCB, thank you Linda, for the time you took away from your role at Boston University to lead us and for your year and a half of service to the Foundation. Good luck as you return back to Boston University.

As I now take on the role of Acting Division Director, I am thankful to have the support of talented program directors, staff, and colleagues, like Dr. Gregory Warr, who have previously served in this role.  All are dedicated to the NSF mission of transforming the frontiers of science and engineering, and stimulating innovation to address societal needs through research and education. While change is occasionally uncomfortable, it often brings about opportunities. We are excited to have a number of new program directors who you will meet over the coming months (Dr. E.J. Crane, Dr. Michael Weinreich, and Dr. Jarek Majewski), new staff members (Grace Malato), and the expert leadership of a new Operations Manager (Dr. Reyda Gonzalez-Nieves). Two of our dedicated program directors, first Dr. Michelle Elekonich, and then Dr. Karen Cone, will serve as the acting Deputy Division Director in two respective 120 day rotations. Michelle and Karen both have experience in division leadership and will work with me to ensure the efficient operations and attention to science vision for which MCB is known.

In addition, a new solicitation will be issued and some new workshops are being developed to catalyze conversations about the future directions of MCB science. Within MCB, we are poised to do our part to invest in science, engineering, and education for the nation’s future.

We look forward to engaging the scientific community during panels, meetings, and outreach visits about how to best serve science and the needs of the nation. We ask you to continue to work with us by: submitting your best ideas in proposals, continuing to participate in peer review, serving on panels, meeting with us at NSF workshops or at other scientific meetings, serving as rotating program directors, continuing to do outstanding research and broader impacts activities, and communicating the results of those efforts to the broader community.

As always, MCB welcomes your questions and input on how we can better serve the scientific community. You should always feel free to give us feedback or reach out to a program director with questions.

 

Best wishes,

 

Dr. Theresa Good

Acting Division Director

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2017 PRESIDENTIAL EARLY CAREER AWARDEE, DR. AHMAD KHALIL!

Dr. Ahmad Khalil is smiling, arms crossed, standing in front of his lab bench while wearing a blue and white checked shirt and glasses.

MCB would like to congratulate Dr. Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, recipient of the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The PECASE award is the most prestigious honor a scientist or engineer can receive from the U.S. government early in their independent research career.

PECASE selection is a highly competitive process. As we previously noted on the MCB Blog, awardees must first receive a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. Dr. Khalil received his CAREER award from the Systems and Synthetic Biology Cluster in the Division of MCB. The National Science Foundation annually nominates up to twenty CAREER awardees for the PECASE award, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy makes the final selection of PECASE awardees.

Dr. Khalil was selected to receive a PECASE award because his work is an outstanding example of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and because of his strong commitment to service, scientific leadership, education, and outreach. His research uses synthetic biology to engineer cellular networks; the specific focus of his CAREER award is to develop synthetic tools to study the function of prions in yeast cells and populations. You can read more about his research at Boston University on his lab’s website or in a post we featured via the Share MCB Science blog theme.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Khalil!

This work is partially funded by the Systems and Synthetic Biology Cluster of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, CAREER Award #MCB-1350949.

Sharing MCB Science: The complex role of chromatin in transcriptional regulation

A central question in biology is how a single genome can give rise to the hundreds of distinct cell types that compose an organism. To achieve this task, the genome must be tightly and selectively regulated. Much of this regulation is thought to come from chromatin, a layer of proteins that cover and package our DNA or genomic code. In a recent report that was the cover article for Cell, Dr. Ahmad S. Khalil and his team of researchers at Boston University describe an experimental platform to engineer, design, and control this layer of regulation, which is distinct to eukaryotes. The team engineered molecular tools that could bind specific locations in the genomic code and alter the local structural and chemical properties of chromatin, thus affecting the expression of genes. This research introduces a new framework to engineer cells in organisms like yeast and mammalian cells. It also supports the use of synthetic biology approaches to control and harness this complex regulatory chromatin layer for future uses in disease intervention, biopharmaceutical production, and basic research.

This research study is the product of a collaborative effort between Dr. Ahmad Khalil and fellow Boston University colleague Dr. James Collins. It is supported by Khalil’s CAREER award from the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. The CAREER Award Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. The Khalil group has a history of introducing undergraduate and high school students to synthetic biology through summer research, in addition to hosting regular outreach and education activities focused on molecular biology and microfluidics.