Scientific serendipity, that elusive catalyst between minds that leads to truly creative collaboration, sometimes is just a matter of “chemistry.” Mick Smerdon, Regents Professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences, even has a name for that process: “nucleation event.”
“These things are unpredictable,” he said. “It can happen on the way to a scientific meeting or when you’re going for coffee and diagramming on the back of a napkin. Something clicks and two people begin working together on a research project.”
Though they hadn’t really thought much about it, Smerdon and Bill Davis, assistant professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences, experienced that kind of “clicking” several years ago. Today they share a scientific relationship that is rapidly advancing both of their careers and making a mark in the understanding of DNA damage and repair.
DNA conductivity
The two first met when Smerdon helped recruit Davis from a postdoctoral position at the Technical University of Munich in 2001. Davis was investigating whether DNA could carry an electrical charge — like copper wire — and if it potentially could be used for electronic circuits.
“I had an idea of what Bill was working on and I was fascinated by it,” said Smerdon.
Once at WSU, however, Davis was drawn to the biological aspects of DNA conductivity. That soon opened the door to his mentor-mentoree relationship with Smerdon.
“Basically, I had a question and was in search of the tools to answer it,” said Davis. “Mick had the knowledge, tools and experience to help me begin studying DNA biology in the cell — specifically, chromatin (DNA-protein complex) packaging in the cell nucleus.”
MERIT award
Smerdon, who has spent more than 30 years researching the mechanics of DNA damage and repair in terms of its cellular packaging, is one of a handful of WSU faculty to have received the NIH MERIT award. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in 2001, his award has been approved for funding through 2011. (See ONLINE @ www.niehs.nih.gov for more on the award).
For years, Smerdon also had been asking a question — wondering how damage to an outside region of the DNA strand could harm supposedly protected DNA lying deep within the chromatin.
“What really hooked me on Bill’s work,” said Smerdon, “was that he was finding a way to explain how an insult in one spot could be transferred by electrical charge to a possibly more important part … of functioning DNA.
“Biologically, this is very important. It potentially leads to mutations in DNA, which can cause cancer and a plethora of other diseases. For example, one gene called p53 shows a mutation in over 50 percent of human cancers.”
CAREER award
With incentive on both sides, the research partnership between Davis and Smerdon flourished. Initially, Davis contributed his expertise in DNA conduction techniques while Smerdon’s team taught Davis how to build detailed models of DNA in chromatin.
Once Davis had assimilated the new knowledge, he submitted a research proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. His ideas for studying DNA charge transport and cellular damage repair were funded in 2004 and approved through spring 2009.
“The CAREER award is very prestigious,” said Smerdon. “It is very significant for Bill’s professional development.”
It is one of the NSF’s most prominent awards, supporting early career development of select scholars. (See ONLINE @ www.nsf.gov for more on the award).
Both CAREER and MERIT awards are recognized by the Center for Measuring University Performance (see story below).
Professional colleagues
Today, Davis has his own laboratory independent of Smerdon, but the two research teams interact closely.
“We share labs, reagents, discuss data and share common interests,” Smerdon said.
“Bill has evolved from a mentoree into a colleague,” he added. “We go to each other for feedback, we’re both on our students’ graduate committees and we keep up with each others’ projects.”
“People think …this kind of partnership… can happen by throwing money at it, but it doesn’t work that way,” Smerdon said. “Part of it has to be interpersonal — it’s not just about the science.”
It’s also about the interaction.
“Einstein jumped crevasses in his thinking and let the mathematicians fill in the gaps — we need both the visionaries and the ‘laser brains.’ It has to be a match of ideas.”
Chromatin packaging intricate
Chromatin is the DNA-protein complex in the cell nucleus. Somewhat similar to a golf ball — with its core covered by many layers of tightly wound rubber bands — the chromatin in each nucleus is packaged as precisely folded protein groups surrounded by layers of DNA. When unraveled, the DNA from one cell is about two meters long.
“For comparison, this is like taking something as tall as the Sears Tower in Chicago and making it fit into something the size of a pea … or more aptly, a lentil,” said Davis.
“This packaging happens in every one of our 30 trillion human cells that has a nucleus,” he said. “All of the cellular processes of DNA must occur in that incredibly packed jumble.”
Faculty awards and AAU membership
“Association of American Universities (AAU) members are comprehensive research institutions with a high quality faculty,” explains Jim Petersen, WSU vice provost for research.
“The quality of the faculty is assessed in a variety of ways. For example, the faculty at AAU institutions often are recognized by their peers as among the leaders in their fields. As such, they are selected to receive highly prestigious awards, such as those listed in the AAU membership policy and quantified by the ‘Measuring University Performance’ project.
“Moreover, these faculty are able to attract funds to support their scholarly and research activities, and they publish articles and produce scholarly works that impact future thought in their fields. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students are drawn to AAU institutions because their faculty are known to be such leaders.”
See the Center for Measuring University Performance, ONLINE @ http://mup.asu.edu and the Association of American Universities, ONLINE @ www.aau.edu.
