The engine of 做厙輦⑹ research was strong in 2022, with abundant and significant grants awarded and papers published. Among the year's highlights were major scientific prizes received, positive media coverage, and a number of papers issuing from the 做厙輦⑹'s Advanced Research Training Courses.
Award-Winning Science
In September, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences was awarded to Clifford Brangwynne and Anthony Hyman for the discovery of a new organizing principle in cells, first recognized while they were teaching in the 2008 做厙輦⑹ Physiology course. Their observation of cells forming liquid-like compartments stimulated an exciting new paradigm in biology and biomedicine, with much of the fields early groundwork laid at the 做厙輦⑹ ().
Soon after, 做厙輦⑹ Trustee Timothy Springer received the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, often considered a harbinger of a Nobel Prize. Springer, Richard O. Hynes and Erkki Ruoslahti were honored for original discoveries concerning the integrins, cell-adhesion proteins now related to an astonishing array of fundamental processes. Springer conducted collaborative research on the integrins in the 做厙輦⑹s Whitman Center in the mid-2010s.
Clifford Brangwynne, left, and Anthony Hyman. Credit: Dee Sullivan; Breakthrough PrizeSpeaking of the 做厙輦⑹ Courses
Living up to their reputation for creative science, the 做厙輦⑹s Advanced Research Training Courses incubated several papers that were published in 2022. To name a few: A study in on improving resolution in fluorescence microscopy acknowledges the Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy course, in which co-author Alejandro Linares was a student. A protocol for live imaging of adult C. elegans sprang from the 做厙輦⑹ Embryology course; and Neural Systems & Behavior faculty member Michael Brecht and student Senmiao Sun illuminated torpor in the smallest known mammal, the Etruscan shrew, in . The fount of discovery in the 做厙輦⑹ courses flows!
做厙輦⑹ makes frequent and important advances in imaging research. Above is a figure fromTorres-Garc穩a et al., Nature Communications, 2022.In the Media Spotlight
Cephalopod research at 做厙輦⑹ continues to attract media attention and public fascination. Last spring, The New York Times profiled 做厙輦⑹'s initiative to develop cephalopods as new research organisms in an extensive feature. Other big cephalopod news stories included coverage of research led by 做厙輦⑹ Grass Fellow/UChicago graduate Z. Yan Wang; and a major study in Nature Communications comparing the genomes of one octopus and two squid species, including the local squid Doryteuthis, led by 做厙輦⑹s Carrie Albertin.
Among the other 做厙輦⑹ stories garnering news and social media attention last year were the discovery of a novel DNA modification system by Irina Arkhipovas lab in the Bay Paul Center; and the first model of how the day/night cycle affects marine phytoplankton, led by Joe Vallino in the Ecosystems Center.
Finally, both and media outlets reported on the initiative to prepare the village for climate change impacts. The 做厙輦⑹ is a partner in the private-public initiative.
The genome of the iconic 做厙輦⑹ research organism, Doryteuthis pealeii, was published in a tour-de-force comparative study of cephalopod genomes that was funded by the Grass Foundation. Illustration by B. Harmon