Helen Blau
| Helen M. Blau | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 8, 1948 London, England |
| Residence | United States |
| Citizenship | British, United States |
| Fields | Developmental biology, regenerative medicine, Stem cell biology |
| Institutions | Stanford University Medical School |
| Alma mater |
University of York Harvard University |
Helen Margaret Blau (born May 8, 1948) is a British and American Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford University Medical School, where she has been a faculty member since 1978.[1][2] At Stanford she heads the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, and also holds appointments as Associate Program Director of Predoctoral Training and as Associate Program Director of Predoctoral Training in Developmental Biology and Neonatology. She is a Member of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Faculty Affiliate of both Bio-X and the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.
Personal biography
Helen Blau was born in London in 1948 and grew up until six in the USA, but then mostly in France and Germany. Her father was a teacher of world history, her mother taught literature.[3] Helen earned a B.A. from the University of York in England, an M.A. and Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University. After working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Division of Medical Genetics at UCSF, she joined the faculty at Stanford where she rose through the ranks from Assistant to Associate to Full Professor.[4] She speaks English, French and German equally fluently. Professor Blau is married to David Spiegel, a psychiatrist, and they have two children.[5] https://cap.stanford.ehttps://cap.stanford.edu/profiles/viewImage?profileId=4517&type=squaredu/profiles/viewImage?profileId=4517&type=square
Research
Her research[1][6] has been directed to studying nuclear fusion, cell reprogramming, cell fate plasticity and stem cell pluripotency to differentiate.[6][7]
In the 1980s her lab findings contributed to change the established belief that the mammalian differentiated state was fixed and irreversible. Her team reprogrammed somatic cells to express genes of an alternative fate without the need for DNA replication or cell division. She achieved this by fusing cells of two different fates together to form heterokaryons.[8][9]
In recent years her lab established the role of mammalian DNA demethylation in cell-reprogramming toward pluripotency.[10][11][12]
Her group studied special biomaterials and designed novel hydrogel matrices for culturing adult stem cells.[13][14][15]
She has proposed that Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)-a muscle wasting disease-involves shortenening of the telomeres of myoblasts and cardiomyocytes.[16][17]
Helen Blau hypothesized that so-called “tumor suppressor genes” stimulate regeneration in mammals including humans.[18]
Books
- Neuromuscular Development and Disease (Raven Press)
- Handbook of Stem Cells (co-editor, Academic Press)
Honors and memberships
Along her professional career, among other honors, Professor Blau has won the following distinctions:[1]
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Nijmegen, Holland (2003)
- President, International Society of Differentiation (2002–2004)
- Council Member, American Society for Cell Biology (2002–2004)
- Merit Award, National Institute of Health (1995–2005)
- McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award (2001)
- FASEB Excellence in Science Award, FASEB (1999)
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996)
- Member of the Institute of Medicine (1995)
- President, American Society for Developmental Biology (1994–1995)
- Senior Career Recognition Award, Women in Cell Biology, ASCB (1992)
- Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1991)
- Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Ellison Medical Foundation and Harvard Board of Overseers.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Helen M. Blau". Stanford School of Medicine. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ Ningthoujam, Debananda S. "Footprints of Pioneer Scientists-58". Manipur Times. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ "Helen M. Blau (1948-)". The Peoples Chronicle. 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ "Helen Blau | Stanford University". ZoomInfo.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ Adams, Amy (2002-05-22). "Baxter Lab opens its doors onto medical research". Stanford University. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Blau Lab". Stanford University. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ A comprehensive list of scientific articles authored by Professor Helen Blau is available at the following link.
- ↑ Blau, HM; Chiu, CP; Webster, C (Apr 1983). "Cytoplasmic activation of human nuclear genes in stable heterocaryons.". Cell 32 (4): 1171–80. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(83)90300-8. PMID 6839359. Retrieved Feb 7, 2014.
- ↑ Palermo, A; Doyonnas, R; Bhutani, N; Pomerantz, J; Alkan, O; Blau, HM (May 2009). "Nuclear reprogramming in heterokaryons is rapid, extensive, and bidirectional.". FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 23 (5): 1431–40. doi:10.1096/fj.08-122903. PMC 2669427. PMID 19141533. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Zhang, F; Pomerantz, JH; Sen, G; Palermo, AT; Blau, HM (Mar 13, 2007). "Active tissue-specific DNA demethylation conferred by somatic cell nuclei in stable heterokaryons". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104 (11): 4395–400. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.4395Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.0700181104. PMC 1838613. PMID 17360535. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Bhutani, N; Brady, JJ; Damian, M; Sacco, A; Corbel, SY; Blau, HM (Feb 25, 2010). "Reprogramming towards pluripotency requires AID-dependent DNA demethylation". Nature 463 (7284): 1042–7. Bibcode:2010Natur.463.1042B. doi:10.1038/nature08752. PMC 2906123. PMID 20027182. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Bhutani, N; Burns, DM; Blau, HM (Sep 16, 2011). "DNA demethylation dynamics". Cell 146 (6): 866–72. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.08.042. PMC 3236603. PMID 21925312. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Lutolf, Matthias P.; Gilbert, Penney M.; Blau, Helen M. (26 November 2009). "Designing materials to direct stem-cell fate". Nature 462 (7272): 433–441. Bibcode:2009Natur.462..433L. doi:10.1038/nature08602. PMC 2908011. PMID 19940913. Retrieved Feb 9, 2014.
- ↑ Gilbert, PM; Havenstrite, KL; Magnusson, KE; Sacco, A; Leonardi, NA; Kraft, P; Nguyen, NK; Thrun, S; Lutolf, MP; Blau, HM (Aug 27, 2010). "Substrate elasticity regulates skeletal muscle stem cell self-renewal in culture". Science 329 (5995): 1078–81. Bibcode:2010Sci...329.1078G. doi:10.1126/science.1191035. PMC 2929271. PMID 20647425.
- ↑ Gilbert, PM; Havenstrite, KL; Magnusson, KE; Sacco, A; Leonardi, NA; Kraft, P; Nguyen, NK; Thrun, S; Lutolf, MP; Blau, HM (Aug 27, 2010). "Substrate elasticity regulates skeletal muscle stem cell self-renewal in culture". Science 329 (5995): 1078–81. Bibcode:2010Sci...329.1078G. doi:10.1126/science.1191035. PMC 2929271. PMID 20647425. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Sacco, A; Mourkioti, F; Tran, R; Choi, J; Llewellyn, M; Kraft, P; Shkreli, M; Delp, S; Pomerantz, JH; Artandi, SE; Blau, HM (Dec 23, 2010). "Short telomeres and stem cell exhaustion model Duchenne muscular dystrophy in mdx/mTR mice". Cell 143 (7): 1059–71. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.11.039. PMC 3025608. PMID 21145579. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Mourkioti, F; Kustan, J; Kraft, P; Day, JW; Zhao, MM; Kost-Alimova, M; Protopopov, A; DePinho, RA; Bernstein, D; Meeker, AK; Blau, HM (Aug 2013). "Role of telomere dysfunction in cardiac failure in Duchenne muscular dystrophy". Nature Cell Biology 15 (8): 895–904. doi:10.1038/ncb2790. PMC 3774175. PMID 23831727. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.
- ↑ Pomerantz, JH; Blau, HM (Jun 2013). "Tumor suppressors: enhancers or suppressors of regeneration?". Development (Cambridge, England) 140 (12): 2502–12. doi:10.1242/dev.084210. PMC 3666379. PMID 23715544. Retrieved Feb 6, 2014.