Elaine Fuchs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elaine Fuchs
|
|
|---|---|
Fuchs at the 2010 UNESCO-L’Oréal Prize for Women in Science Awards Ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
|
|
| Education | University of Illinois, Princeton University |
| Known for | Identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying skin disease |
| Spouse(s) | David Hansen |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell biology Immunology |
| Institutions | The Rockefeller University |
| Thesis | The biosynthesis and assembly of the peptidoglycan sacculus of Bacillus Megatorium |
| Academic advisors | Howard Green, Janet Rowley, Susan Lindquist |
Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist. She is famous for her work on how skin and skin diseases work at a tiny, molecular level. Her research has helped make the study of skin (called dermatology) more modern.
Dr. Fuchs was a pioneer in using a method called reverse genetics. This means she first looked at how a protein works, then figured out its role in how our bodies develop and how diseases happen. She especially studies skin stem cells, which are special cells that can make new hair and skin. She works at The Rockefeller University and is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Elaine Fuchs grew up near Chicago in a family of scientists. Her father, aunt, and sister were all scientists, and her family really encouraged her to go to college and study science. She said these influences were very important to her when she was a child.
In an interview, Dr. Fuchs shared how she first got interested in science. She said, "I think like many of the children in our world, I got interested in science just from having a butterfly net and from having a few strainers and some boots and going down to the streams and creeks and being out in the fields." Even her mother, who stayed at home, inspired her to follow her interest in science. This was at a time when not many women chose science careers.
Dr. Fuchs earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1972 from the University of Illinois. She was one of only three women in a physics class of 200 students.
When she applied to graduate school, Dr. Fuchs decided not to take a test called the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). She felt the test didn't truly show what she knew. Instead, she sent a three-page letter explaining why she wouldn't take it. Even though she was accepted everywhere she applied, she thinks professors today might not be as open to such a bold move.
She earned her Ph.D. in biochemical sciences from Princeton University in 1977. After that, she started her work on skin biology. She studied how skin cells grow and change in the lab of Howard Green at MIT.
Career and Research
In 1980, Dr. Fuchs became a professor at the University of Chicago. She was the first woman in the biochemistry department there. Her first studies involved finding and understanding the genes for keratin, which is a key protein in skin and hair.
In 2002, Dr. Fuchs moved to Rockefeller University. There, she continues her important work. She is known for studying skin, finding out what causes skin diseases, and developing the field of skin stem cells. She also helped create the method called reverse genetics.
Her research team uses laboratory mice and special ways to grow mammalian skin cells in the lab. These are called `model systems` because they help scientists study how things work in living beings. Recently, she has been studying how stem cells help tissues repair themselves. She also looks at how stem cells balance making more cells and changing into specialized cells.
Dr. Fuchs has also held important leadership roles. She was the president of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2001. In 2009, she received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama. This is the highest honor for scientists in the United States. In 2015, she received the E.B. Wilson Medal, which is the highest scientific honor from the American Society for Cell Biology.
Understanding Genes with Reverse Genetics
Dr. Fuchs developed the `reverse genetics` approach when she started as a professor. Imagine you want to know what a specific part of a car does.
- `Forward genetics` would be like seeing a car that doesn't start and trying to find out which part is broken.
- `Reverse genetics` is like taking a specific part out of a working car to see what happens.
Dr. Fuchs used this method to study skin. She changed a gene that affects `keratin`, a protein that gives strength to skin cells. When she put this changed gene into mice, their skin developed severe blisters. This looked very similar to a skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Later, working with skin doctors, she found that people with this condition also had similar changes in their keratin genes.
Stem Cells and Skin Cancer
Dr. Fuchs and her team have also studied how cancerous stem cells, called squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), grow. These are common and dangerous types of skin cancer. She found that how fast these cancer stem cells divide depends on their surroundings, called their `microenvironment`.
She looked at a signal molecule called `TGF-β`, which is found near blood vessels in tumors. Dr. Fuchs found that cancer stem cells that didn't get the `TGF-β` signal divided faster. However, they were easier to treat with anti-cancer drugs. On the other hand, cancer stem cells that received the `TGF-β` signal divided slower but were harder to treat. Her research helps us understand how cancer cells behave and how to fight them better.
Personal Life
Dr. Fuchs is married to David Hansen, who is also a professor. She enjoys traveling, art, and photography.
Supporting Women in Science
Throughout her career, Dr. Fuchs has been a strong supporter of young female scientists. She has shared stories about the challenges she faced as a woman in science. She believes it's important for successful women scientists to be good role models for younger generations.
She remembers a time early in her career when a technician asked if she was Dr. Fuchs's new assistant. She proudly replied, "I am Dr. Fuchs!" She believes that by setting a good example, scientists can help stop any unfair treatment against women in science.
Dr. Fuchs also praised the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award, which honors women scientists from different parts of the world. She said it celebrates not only women in science but also how important science is for the whole world.
Awards and Honors
Elected to
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994)
- Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (1994)
- National Academy of Sciences (1996)
- American Academy of Microbiology (1997)
- American Philosophical Society (2005)
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2008)
- Foreign Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (2010)
- Fellow, Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (2013)
- Pontifical Academy of Sciences (2018)
- Foreign Member, The Royal Society (2019)
Awards
- Senior Women's Career Achievement Award (American Society of Cell Biology, 1997)
- Richard Lounsbery Award (National Academy of Sciences, 2001)
- Dickson Prize in Medicine (2004)
- National Medal of Science (2009)
- L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science (2010)
- Passano Award (2011)
- Albany Medical Center Prize (2011)
- March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology (2012)
- American Skin Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2013)
- Pasarow Award (2013)
- Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research (2014)
- E.B. Wilson Medal, ASCB (2015)
- International Society for Stem Cell Research Innovation Award (2017)
- Canada Gairdner International Award (2020)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science (2023)
See also
In Spanish: Elaine Fuchs para niños
