Alice Y. Ting facts for kids

Alice Yen-Ping Ting (Chinese: 丁燕萍) is an amazing Taiwanese-born American chemist. She is a professor who teaches about genetics, biology, and chemistry at Stanford University. She is also a researcher at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a very high honor for scientists!

Early Life and Education

Alice Ting was born in Taiwan. When she was three years old, her family moved to the United States. She grew up in Texas and attended a special school for talented students called the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS).

She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in chemistry, from Harvard University in 1996. There, she worked with E.J. Corey, who later won a Nobel Prize. She then went on to get her Ph.D. (a higher degree in science) from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000. Her advisor for her Ph.D. was Peter G. Schultz.

After her Ph.D., Dr. Ting did more research as a postdoctoral fellow with Roger Y. Tsien. He also won a Nobel Prize in 2008 for his work with green fluorescent protein.

Career and Achievements

In 2002, Dr. Ting joined the MIT Chemistry Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a professor there until 2016. In 2016, she moved to Stanford University. At Stanford, she works in the Departments of Genetics, Biology, and Chemistry.

Her research focuses on creating new ways to study cells using methods like directed evolution and synthetic organic chemistry. These methods help scientists understand how cells work.

Dr. Ting has received many important awards for her work. Some of these include:

• The National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award in 2008.
• The Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society in 2010.
• The NIH Transformative R01 Award in both 2013 and 2018.
• The McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award.
• The Technology Review TR35 Award.
• The Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship.
• The Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.
• The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.
• The Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science in 2012.

Since 2017, Dr. Ting has been a researcher at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. In 2023, she was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences. This is a very high honor that recognizes top scientists in the United States.

How Dr. Ting's Research Helps

Dr. Ting and her lab have developed several important techniques. These methods are now used by many scientists around the world.

One key method is called Proximity Labeling (PL). This technique helps scientists discover molecules that are very close to a specific molecule they are interested in, inside living cells. Imagine you want to find out who your friend hangs out with in a crowded room. PL is like giving your friend a special marker that tags anyone standing right next to them!

Here's how PL works:

• Scientists attach a special enzyme (a type of protein) to the molecule they want to study.
• They then add a small chemical.
• This enzyme uses the chemical to "tag" any other molecules (like proteins or RNA) that are very close by.

PL is a powerful way to understand how cells send signals and how different molecules work together. It can even help discover new genes related to diseases. Dr. Ting's lab has created three widely used enzymes for PL: APEX2, TurboID, and miniTurbo. These enzymes were improved using a method called directed evolution, which is like speeding up natural selection in the lab.

Dr. Ting's lab has also developed other cool tools, such as:

• Monovalent streptavidin: A special protein used for imaging.
• Site-specific biotinylation: A way to attach a small molecule called biotin to specific spots in cells.
• Small monovalent quantum dots: Tiny glowing particles used to see single molecules.
• APEX2 as a genetic tag for electron microscopy: A tool similar to green fluorescent protein but for a different type of microscope (electron microscope). It helps scientists see tiny structures like synapses (connections between brain cells).
• FLARE (fast light- and activity-regulated expression): A method to turn on genes in brain cells that are actively working.
• SPARK (specific protein association tool giving transcriptional readout with rapid kinetics): A tool to quickly see when two proteins interact.
• PRIME (probe incorporation mediated by enzymes): A protein labeling technique that uses small, bright chemical probes instead of green fluorescent protein. These probes are very bright, stable, and small, making them great for studying proteins.