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Beverly M. Emerson

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Beverly Marie Emerson
BornJanuary 18, 1952
Eugene, Oregon
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
University of California, San Diego
Washington University in St. Louis
Known forMolecular Biology, p53
Scientific career
InstitutionsSalk Institute for Biological Studies
Oregon Health & Science University
Doctoral advisorRobert G. Roeder

Beverly M. Emerson (born January 18, 1952) is an Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies who uncovered details about how cancer becomes drug resistant. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Early life and education

Emerson was born in Eugene, Oregon. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother became a traveller. Her father was an amateur boxer and her mother was a gambler.[1] Emerson attended the La Châtelainie School for Girls in Neuchâtel for a year. She studied biology at the University of California, San Diego.[2] To support her studies, she worked as a carhop at Shoney's and a waitress at a steakhouse.[1] During her undergraduate studies she spent a year at the University of St Andrews (1972), where she worked with Donald Helinski and Peter Geiduschek.[3] She joined Washington University in St. Louis for her graduate studies, earning a PhD in molecular biology in 1981 under the supervision of Robert G. Roeder.[3] She faced some challenges during her doctoral studies, but was helped by Shirley M. Tilghman who visited Seattle as a guest speaker.[3] Emerson was a postdoctoral research associate at the National Institutes of Health, where she started to work on transcription.[3] She has continued to investigate how transcription can malfunction and cause disease throughout her academic career.[4]

Research and career

Emerson joined the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 1986.[5] She joined at the same time as Katherine Jones.[5] She was awarded a Pew Scholars Award, and held an adjunct position at the University of California, San Diego.[3][6] Emerson was promoted to professor in 1999.

Emerson's lab considered how genes are turned on and off throughout the course of cancer.[7] The study of how tumour suppressant genes are silenced during cancer has been the pursuit of many scientists.[8] Emerson identified a novel regulator of gene expression in cancer.[9] She identified the functions of the tumour suppressing protein p53, which is mutated in the majority of human cancers and impairs cell cycle arrest apoptosis.[1][10][11] Emerson investigated p53 using biochemical and cell-based analyses.[10] She also studied the protein TGF beta 1, a transforming growth factor, which was understood to suppress the development of cancer. Emerson found that once a cell drifts into a precancerous state TGF beta 1 can in fact act to promote cancer.[12] She went on to study how stress response in breast tissue can promote early cancer formation. She has studied the Beta globin gene family, and found it is activated by EKLF, a zinc finger containing transcription factor.[4] She has worked with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.[13]

In 2017 Emerson filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the Salk Institute.[2][14] She led a report that assessed the culture of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, finding that women were less likely to be hired and received the smallest labs, despite raising more National Institutes of Health funding.[2] In April 2018 the story broke that Inder Verma had been serially harassing women at the Salk Institute, and Emerson had been one of his victims in September 2001.[15] He was put on administrative leave and subsequently resigned before the board of trustees took action in June 2018.[16] Emerson's case went to trial and was settled in November 2018.[17][18][19] Emerson spent over thirty years at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.[2] She left in 2017, when her contract was not renewed as she did not secure grant funding to pay for half of her salary.[2] She joined the Oregon Health & Science University, where she is a Distinguished Scientists who directs research initiatives.[10]

She was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c "A Scientist's Life: 10 Things Salk's Beverly Emerson Has Done". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2011-08-30. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  2. ^ a b c d e "The cancer detective". New Scientist Jobs. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Beverly M. Emerson | Science History Institute | Center for Oral History". oh.sciencehistory.org. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  4. ^ a b "Emerson Lab - Salk Institute for Biological Studies". emerson.salk.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  5. ^ a b Pickett, Mallory (2019-04-18). "I Want What My Male Colleague Has, and That Will Cost a Few Million Dollars". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  6. ^ "Beverly Emerson | UCSD Profiles". profiles.ucsd.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  7. ^ "Beverly Emerson". Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  8. ^ "Emerson Lab - Salk Institute for Biological Studies". emerson.salk.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  9. ^ "Salk Institute study identifies novel regulator of key gene expression in cancer". EurekAlert!. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  10. ^ a b c "Beverly Emerson, Ph.D. | OHSU People". Oregon Health & Science University. Retrieved 2019-04-22.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Espinosa, Joaquin M.; Emerson, Beverly M. (2006-04-15). "Transcriptional regulation by p53 during apoptosis". Cancer Research. 66 (8 Supplement): 1359. ISSN 0008-5472. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  12. ^ "Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy". EurekAlert!. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  13. ^ "Beverly Emerson". California's Stem Cell Agency. 2012-06-25. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  14. ^ Wadman, Meredith (2017-08-23). "Leaked documents expose long-standing gender tensions at Salk Institute". Science | AAAS. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  15. ^ Wadman, Meredith (2018-04-26). "Famed cancer biologist allegedly sexually harassed women for decades". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  16. ^ Wadman, Meredith (2018-06-11). "Leading Salk scientist resigns after allegations of harassment". Science | AAAS. Archived from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  17. ^ Maxmen, Amy (2018-08-31). "Judge limits scope of gender-discrimination lawsuit against Salk Institute". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-06161-2. S2CID 80660849. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  18. ^ "Email reveals former Salk president's efforts to discourage gender discrimination suit". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-08-13. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  19. ^ "Salk Institute settles last of three gender discrimination lawsuits". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-11-21. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  20. ^ "Beverly Emerson | Get to Know". Giving Back San Diego Magazine. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-04-22. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
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