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A Dartmouth cell biologist in the growing area of cilia and flagella
movement has received a three-year fellowship aimed at encouraging young
scientists to enter the field of cell biology.
Elizabeth F. Smith
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Elizabeth F. Smith,
associate professor of biological
sciences, has been named a K.R.
Porter Fellow of the Porter Endowment for Cell Biology. The award will
support Smith’s talks to groups of young scientists and sponsorship of young
researchers to attend professional conferences.
Named for Keith Roberts Porter (1912–1997), a Canadian-born researcher
considered by many to have established the field of cell biology, the
eight-year-old fellowship program is intended for researchers near the middle
of their careers who show “unusual potential for an outstanding career in cell
biology.”
Smith studies the biochemical signals involved in the development and
motility, or movement, of flagella and cilia. Flagella are the tails that move
the sperm of a range of organisms, while cilia are the hair-like structures
that extend from cells in organisms and bodily organs.
“I am honored to receive this award, even more so when I see the list of
past recipients,” Smith says. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve
as a Porter fellow.”
Smith “has a vibrant, innovative, and productive research program and is a
great teacher and mentor to Dartmouth students, from first-year undergraduates
to graduate students,” says C.
Robertson McClung, professor of biological sciences and associate dean of
the faculty for the sciences. “It is wonderful and fitting to see her
recognized with this honor.”
Smith’s research focuses on Chlamydomonas, a single-cell green alga
that swims with two flagella. Discoveries about flagella also apply to cilia
because the two are so similar in structure—no matter what animal’s sperm or
cilia-bearing cells are being examined. Flagella and cilia development and
function have long been linked to hydrocephaly, infertility, and respiratory
distress. Scientific interest in flagella and cilia has grown in response to
findings in the past decade linking cilia development to such disorders as
retinal degeneration and polycystic kidney disease.
Smith came to Dartmouth in 1998 after obtaining a doctorate degree in cell
and developmental biology from Emory University and postdoctoral fellowships in
the Department of Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Minnesota.
By REBECCA BAILEY
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