HHMI Bulletin

Today, scientists want more than simple molecular structures. They want to watch molecules in action. They want to learn how proteins work. They want to understand why cellular membrane pores let some things in but not others. To do so, they routinely tweak and merge structural techniques or combine them with approaches from other fields to create tools that can make their wishes come true. 

Erin O’Shea does not waste time. She finished a Ph.D. in two and a half years, rose from novice to world champion dog trainer in under three, and, at age 47, is moving into an executive leadership role at HHMI.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, EXROP has built a trove of success stories that move beyond the singular anecdote to statistical significance. The program has given more than 500 undergraduate minority students the chance to do laboratory research with an HHMI mentor. A full 50 percent of these students have gone on to pursue graduate degrees.

The surveillance system of a cell rivals that of any bank vault: a complicated configuration of sensors, tripwires, and alarms. Biologists have long understood some components of the security system while others remained hidden in a tangle of cellular wiring. Now, Zhijian “James” Chen has uncovered a mechanism the cell uses to detect and react to loose DNA from invading organisms.