Sandra Schmid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sandra Louise Schmid
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| Born | March 7, 1958 |
| Alma mater | University of British Columbia, Stanford University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell Biology |
| Institutions | University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, CZ Biohub |
| Doctoral advisor | James E. Rothman |
| Other academic advisors | Ira Mellman |
Sandra Louise Schmid was born on March 7, 1958, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is a very important cell biologist. She is known for her work on how cells take things in from their outside environment. This process is called clathrin-mediated endocytosis. She also studied a protein called dynamin and found out how it helps cells divide their membranes.
Sandra Schmid was the first Chief Scientific Officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. Before that, she was a professor and leader of the Cell Biology Department at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She has written over 105 scientific papers. She also helped start the journal Traffic and was the main editor for Molecular Biology of the Cell. She even served as the President of the American Society for Cell Biology.
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Early Life and Learning
Sandra Schmid was born in Vancouver, Canada. She says her dad, who was a science teacher, and her special school helped her love science. In her early school years, she was in a program for gifted students. Teachers in this program did not use textbooks. Instead, they encouraged students to think for themselves.
Sandra was the top student in her high school class. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in cell biology in 1980. This was from the University of British Columbia. She also received a special grant for medical research there. In 1985, she got her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University. Her mentor was James E. Rothman. Later, in 2009, she earned a Master of Science degree. This degree was in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego School of Business.
Important Research Work
After finishing her Ph.D., Sandra Schmid worked at Yale University. This was from 1985 to 1988. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Cell Biology Department. There, she helped create ways to get endosomes by themselves. Endosomes are tiny sacs inside cells. Her mentor, Ira Mellman, and his team had just found these endosomes.
From 1988 to 1994, she worked at Scripps Research. She started as an assistant member. Then, in 1994, she became an associate member. In 1996, she became an associate professor. By 2000, she was a full professor. That same year, she became the Chairman of the Cell Biology Department at Scripps Research. In 2012, she took on the same role at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Leading Science Roles
In April 2020, Sandra Schmid was chosen for a big new job. She became the first Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. In this role, she helps guide scientific research.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Sandra Schmid has received many awards for her amazing work.
- In 1976, she won the British Columbia Provincial Scholarship. She also got the Vancouver Student Civic Citizenship Award.
- From 1985 to 1987, she was a Helen Hay Whitney Post-doctoral Fellow at Yale.
- In 1990, she received a Junior Career Recognition Award. This was from the American Society of Cell Biology.
- In 1994, she earned the American Heart Established Investigator Award.
- From 2000 to 2010, she received an NIH MERIT Award.
- In 2002, she won the University of California San Diego Athena Pinnacle Award in Biotechnology.
- In 2006, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- In 2009, she received the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology William C. Rose Award. She was also elected President of the American Society of Cell Biology.
- In 2020, Sandra Schmid was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). This honor recognized her important discoveries in original research.
Personal Life
Sandra Schmid married Bill Balch in 1984. In 1986, they both started working in the cell biology department at Scripps Research. She has two children. She often says that her supportive husband helped her balance her busy work life with her family life.
See also
In Spanish: Sandra Schmid para niños
