Elaine Fuchs
Encyclopedia
Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist, famous for her work on the biology
and molecular mechanisms
of mammal
ian skin
and skin diseases, and has led the modernization of dermatology
. Fuchs also pioneered reverse genetics
approaches, which assess protein
function first and then assesses its role in development and disease. In particular, Fuchs researches skin
stem cell
s, and their production of hair
and skin
. She is currently the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at Rockefeller University
.
Fuchs earned a B.S. in chemistry
in 1972 from the University of Illinois
, graduating with highest distinction in the Chemical Sciences. She began as one of only three women in an undergraduate physics class of 200. Fuchs was politically active during college, protesting the Vietnam War
and applying to the Peace Corps
. However, when she was assigned to Uganda
, then under the dictatorship of Idi Amin
, she elected to go directly to graduate school instead.
Fuchs earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry
from Princeton University
, working with Charles Gilvarg. For her doctoral work, Fuchs studied changes in bacterial cell walls -- the biosynthesis and assembly of the cell wall of bacillus megaterium.
Fuchs began her career-defining work on skin biology during her postdoctoral work with Howard Green at MIT
. In Green's lab she studied the mechanisms underlying growth and differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes.
Fuchs accepted a faculty position at the University of Chicago
in 1980, as the first woman in the biochemistry department. She was mentored and befriended by Janet Rowley
and Susan Lindquist
, and eventually they all joined the reorganized Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, in which Fuchs was eventually appointed the Amgen Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology.
In 2002, Fuchs accepted a position at Rockefeller University
, where she is currently the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development.
Fuchs is known for her support of women in science
, and has stated that
Fuchs has also continued her concern for social and ethical issues, remarking at 2000 commencement address at the University of Chicago:
Fuchs is married to a fellow academic, David Hansen. She currently sits on the board of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
. She was elected president of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2001.
Her Dickson Prize nominator said of Fuchs that "Her innovative reverse genetic approach and landmark discoveries in our understanding of the underlying bases for inherited human disorders and cancers places her in the top cadre of the most creative scientists worldwide." She is listed as one of the ISI's most highly cited researchers.
Fuchs uses the mouse and mammalian epithelial stem cell culture as model systems
.
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and molecular mechanisms
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
of mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
ian skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
and skin diseases, and has led the modernization of dermatology
Dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
. Fuchs also pioneered reverse genetics
Reverse genetics
Reverse genetics is an approach to discovering the function of a gene by analyzing the phenotypic effects of specific gene sequences obtained by DNA sequencing. This investigative process proceeds in the opposite direction of so-called forward genetic screens of classical genetics...
approaches, which assess protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
function first and then assesses its role in development and disease. In particular, Fuchs researches skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
s, and their production of hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
and skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. She is currently the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
.
Biography
Fuchs grew up outside Chicago, in a family of scientists—her father, aunt, and sister were also scientists, and her family encouraged her to pursue higher education.Fuchs earned a B.S. in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
in 1972 from the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, graduating with highest distinction in the Chemical Sciences. She began as one of only three women in an undergraduate physics class of 200. Fuchs was politically active during college, protesting the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and applying to the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. However, when she was assigned to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, then under the dictatorship of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
, she elected to go directly to graduate school instead.
Fuchs earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, working with Charles Gilvarg. For her doctoral work, Fuchs studied changes in bacterial cell walls -- the biosynthesis and assembly of the cell wall of bacillus megaterium.
Fuchs began her career-defining work on skin biology during her postdoctoral work with Howard Green at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. In Green's lab she studied the mechanisms underlying growth and differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes.
Fuchs accepted a faculty position at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1980, as the first woman in the biochemistry department. She was mentored and befriended by Janet Rowley
Janet Rowley
Janet Davison Rowley is an American human geneticist and the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers....
and Susan Lindquist
Susan Lindquist
Susan Lindquist is a professor of biology at MIT specializing in molecular biology, particularly the protein folding problem within a family of molecules known as heat-shock proteins, and prions...
, and eventually they all joined the reorganized Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, in which Fuchs was eventually appointed the Amgen Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology.
In 2002, Fuchs accepted a position at Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
, where she is currently the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development.
Fuchs is known for her support of women in science
Women in science
Women have made contributions and sacrifices to science from the earliest times. Like many men in science, women have received little or no distinction for their work during their lifetimes. Science is generally and historically a male-dominated field, and evidence suggests that this is due to...
, and has stated that
- Senior women who are recognized by their peers as being successful have a responsibility to help educate those scientists who haven't quite accepted this important message. And we have a responsibility to maintain the highest scientific and ethical standards and to serve as the best role models we can for the younger generation of outstanding scientists - both men and women - who are rising through the ranks. Leading by good example is still the best way to diffuse the now more subtle and less vocal, but nevertheless lingering, discrimination and dogmatism against women scientists within our scientific community."
Fuchs has also continued her concern for social and ethical issues, remarking at 2000 commencement address at the University of Chicago:
- I now balance the joy of discovery with the necessity of taking seriously ethical and educational concerns at the nexus of science and society today. Indeed, for the world of science to be a successful one, it must be a science of the world. It must be a science that embodies concern for the world of the next millennium. Your education has taught you to be morally and ethically responsible, and to bring philosophical reflection into your chosen profession, your community, and your life as a whole.
Fuchs is married to a fellow academic, David Hansen. She currently sits on the board of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is a not-for-profit cancer research organization focused "discovering the talent to discover the cure." The Foundation states that its goals are to: "identify the best and brightest early career scientists in cancer research, accelerate the translation...
. She was elected president of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2001.
Science
Fuchs is known for revolutionizing the study of skin, identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying skin disease, developing the field of skin stem cells, and pioneering reverse genetics.Her Dickson Prize nominator said of Fuchs that "Her innovative reverse genetic approach and landmark discoveries in our understanding of the underlying bases for inherited human disorders and cancers places her in the top cadre of the most creative scientists worldwide." She is listed as one of the ISI's most highly cited researchers.
Fuchs uses the mouse and mammalian epithelial stem cell culture as model systems
Molecular modelling
Molecular modelling encompasses all theoretical methods and computational techniques used to model or mimic the behaviour of molecules. The techniques are used in the fields of computational chemistry, computational biology and materials science for studying molecular systems ranging from small...
.
Significant Papers
- Tcf3TCF3Transcription factor 3 , also known as TCF3, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TCF3 gene...
regulator paper, Cell, Oct. 6, 2006 - Nature, March 20, 2003
Awards and honors
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1994) - Hermann Pinkus Memorial Lecture Award (2000), American Society of Dermatopathology
- Dickson Prize in Medicine (2004), University of Pittsburgh
- Richard Lounsbery Award (2001), National Academy of Sciences
- FASEB Excellence in Science AwardFASEB Excellence in Science AwardThe Excellence in Science Award was established by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in 1989 to recognize outstanding achievement by women in biological science. All women who are members of one or more of the societies of FASEB are eligible for nomination...
(2006) - National Medal of ScienceNational Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
(2008) - L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in ScienceL'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in ScienceThe L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science aims to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress...
(2010)* WICB Senior AwardeeWICB Junior and Senior AwardsThe Women In Cell Biology Committee recognizes outstanding achievements in cell biology by presenting two Career Recognition Awards at the ASCB Annual Meeting...
(1997), Women in Cell Biology Committee - Novartis Drew Award in Biomedical Research
- Cruikshank Award
- Cartwright Award
- Searle Scholar
- Presidential Young Investigator AwardPresidential Young Investigator AwardThe Presidential Young Investigator Award was awarded by the National Science Foundation. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator Awards and Presidential Faculty Fellows Program...
- Member, National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
- Member, Institute of Medicine
- Member of the New York Academy of SciencesNew York Academy of SciencesThe New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, non-profit organization with more than members in 140 countries, the Academy’s mission is to advance understanding of science and technology...
- Member of the American Society for MicrobiologyAmerican Society for MicrobiologyThe American Society for Microbiology is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. Microbiology is the study of organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye and which must be viewed with a...
- Member of the The Harvey Society
- Elected, Council, National Academy of Sciences
- Elected member, American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
- Honorary doctorates from Mt. Sinai and New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Medical School