UCSD Researcher Recognized for Her Outstanding Career Achievements in Biological Science
Summary
Taylor is an outstanding biochemist and structural biologist whose laboratory has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of cellular regulation by protein phosphorylation.Just as the cAMP-dependent protein kinase that she studies is the prototype of this critically important family of enzymes, Dr. Taylor is an exemplar for the truly meritorious women scientists whose career achievements are celebrated by the Excellence in Science Award.” Taylor, one of more than 50 women nominated for the prestigious award, will receive an unrestricted research grant of $10,000 sponsored by Eli Lilly and Co. She will also give a talk titled “Dynamics of PKA Signaling” at the 2010 annual meeting at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, in Anaheim, Calif. Taylor, who received her Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and her doctorate in physiological chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University, is regarded by many as the worlds foremost expert on cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), the archetype for all the protein kinases and one of the most important regulatory molecules in a cell.Taylor’s extraordinary work has led to identification of functional residues important for catalysis and subunit interaction and has provided critical insight related to cAMP binding.“These enzymes have become important drug targets for cancer and other diseases, and Susans thoughtful insights into their structure and function have led the field for many years.” More recently, Taylor has been addressing other PKA-related topics such as identifying its subcellular location, in collaboration with Roger Y. Tsien, and examining how the scaffold proteins DAKAP-1 and -2 bring together PKA and its substrates.Just as the cAMP-dependent protein kinase that she studies is the prototype of this critically important family of enzymes, Dr. Taylor is an exemplar for the truly meritorious women scientists whose career achievements are celebrated by the Excellence in Science Award.”Taylor, one of more than 50 women nominated for the prestigious award, will receive an unrestricted research grant of $10,000 sponsored by Eli Lilly and Co. She will also give a talk titled “Dynamics of PKA Signaling” at the 2010 annual meeting at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, in Anaheim, Calif.Taylor, who received her Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and her doctorate in physiological chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University, is regarded by many as the worlds foremost expert on cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), the archetype for all the protein kinases and one of the most important regulatory molecules in a cell.Taylor was first introduced to PKA by a colleague at UCSD, shortly after she started her own lab in 1972 after postdoctoral studies at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England (1969-1970), and UCSD (1971-1972).