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Ronald Vale

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Ronald David Vale[2]
Vale in September 2018
Born (1959-01-11) January 11, 1959 (age 65)[citation needed]
Hollywood, California, US[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMarine Biological Laboratory
Stanford University
University of California, Santa Barbara
Known forResearch in molecular motors, particularly kinesin and dynein
AwardsShaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2017)
Massry Prize (2013)
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2012)
Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2012)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
Cell Biology
InstitutionsUniversity of California, San Francisco
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
ThesisNerve growth factor receptors and axonal transport (1985)
Doctoral advisorEric Shooter[1]

Ronald David Vale ForMemRS (born 1959) is an American biochemist and cell biologist. He is a professor at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco.[3] His research is focused on motor proteins, particularly kinesin and dynein.[4] He was awarded the Canada Gairdner International Award for Biomedical Research in 2019, the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine in 2017 together with Ian Gibbons, and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2012 alongside Michael Sheetz and James Spudich. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was the president of the American Society for Cell Biology in 2012.[5] He has also been an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1995.[3] In 2019, Vale was named executive director of the Janelia Research Campus and a vice president of HHMI; his appointment began in early 2020.[6]

Early life and education

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Vale was born in Hollywood, California. His mother, Evelyn, was a former actress; his father, Eugene, was a novelist and screenwriter. He finished high school at Hollywood High School. For his grade 10 science project, he set up a laboratory at the basement of his home to investigate the circadian rhythm of bean plants. His guidance counselor contacted Karl Hammer at the University of California, Los Angeles, who allowed Vale to continue his experiments at his laboratory. His guidance counselor also encouraged Vale to submit his work to the Westinghouse Science Talent Search (now the Regeneron Science Talent Search), where he was selected as one of the top forty students in the US.[1]

Vale is a first-generation university student.[1] He entered the College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology in 1980.[7] During his study, he first worked at the laboratory of C. Fred Fox at UCLA, then at Robert Lefkowitz's group at Duke University, earning him two articles published in 1984[8] and 1982,[9] respectively.

In 1980, Vale entered an MD/PhD program at Stanford University, supervised by Eric Shooter,[1] where he studied the nerve growth factor receptor (also known as the neurotrophic factor receptor).[10]

Vale obtained his PhD in neuroscience in 1985. He then spent one year as an NIH staff scientist in Tom Reese's laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA.[7]

Scientific career

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While working on Nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors as a graduate student, Vale became interested in exploring the mechanism of how receptors and other molecules are transported in nerve axons. He then heard of the research of Michael Sheetz and James Spudich, who used a video camera on a microscope to film myosin-coated beads moving along actin filaments. In 1983, Vale and Sheetz decided to test whether the movement of myosin on actin was the source for organelle transport in axons, using the squid giant axon as a model. However, since no squid were caught that year at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, following Shooter's approval, they went to the Marine Biological Laboratory instead.[11]

At the Marine Biological Laboratory, Vale and Sheetz teamed up with Bruce Schnapp and Thomas J. Reese.[11] They found that membrane organelle transport occurred bidirectionally on a microtubule, and not actin filament as Vale had originally thought.[12] Vale further demonstrated that purified organelles by themselves rarely moved on microtubules, but movement was observed after adding the cytosol of the axon. He then discovered serendipitously that cytosol caused microtubules to translocate along a glass surface. Similarly, he found that cytosol-coated beads moved along microtubules. These two phenomena provided assays to study microtubule-based motility assay in vitro.[13] In 1985, Vale, Sheetz and Reese isolated the dominant motor protein in the cytosol, naming it "kinesin." They showed that kinesin only moved in one direction towards the plus ends of microtubules [14] and a second motor (later shown to be dynein by Richard Vallee) moved in the opposite direction. The results of Vale and colleagues on axonal transport were published in five papers in 1985.

Vale did not finish his MD, and joined the University of California, San Francisco as an assistant professor in 1986.[15] He was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and then to full professor in 1994.[7] In 1989, Vale, with Jonathan Howard and A. James Hudspeth developed a single molecular assay for kinesin. In 1991, he discovered the first protein that severed microtubules and later purified and named it katanin.[16][17] In 1996, Vale and colleagues solved the crystal structure of the kinesin motor domain.[18] and discovered unexpectedly that it is structurally similar to myosin.[19] In that same year, working with Toshio Yanagida, Vale developed a single-molecule fluorescence assay for kinesin. In 1999, using various techniques, Vale and co-workers developed a mechanical model for how the two motor domains of the kinesin dimer walk in a “hand-over-hand” model along a microtubule.

Since 2003, Vale has focused on dynein, a motor protein discovered by Ian R. Gibbons in 1965. Although its discovery occurred 20 years before kinesin, its large size hampered its investigation. In 2006, Vale's laboratory prepared recombinant dynein from yeast, and elucidated how it walked on microtubules using single-molecule microscopy.[20] He then worked with Gibbons to determine the structure of the dynein microtubule-binding domain.[21] His team also solved the structure of the dynein motor domain.[22] Vale has extended his research to other fields, including T-cell signalling[23] and RNA biology.[24]

Outreach

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Vale founded iBiology in 2006, a non-profit organization that produces and disseminates free online videos by leading biologists, speaking about biological principles and their research, and scientific training and professional development for practicing scientists. Vale recently[25][26] founded and produced The Explorer's Guide to Biology (XBio), a free online undergraduate "textbook" that provides a storytelling and discover-focused approach to learning biology.

Between 2004 and 2008, Vale and Tim Mitchison co-directed the Physiology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, transforming it into an interdisciplinary training environment that brings together biologists, physicists and computational scientists.

In 2009, Vale established the Young Investigators' Meeting in India, which provides a mentoring and networking workshop for postdocs and junior faculty in India. He founded ASAPbio (Accelerating Science and Publication in Biology) in 2015, promoting the use of preprints and an open and transparent peer-review process.[11] Also in 2009, Vale founded the Bangalore Microscopy Course, held at the National Centre for Biological Research, which provides international training in light microscopy. He also organized an online microscopy course through iBiology.

Nico Stuurman and Vale also conceived of and developed Micro-Manager, a free and open-source microscopy software[27] that was supported for many years through the Vale laboratory and now operates through the University of Wisconsin.

Awards and honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Autobiography of Ronald D Vale". Shaw Prize Foundation. June 26, 2017. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Ron Vale". American Society for Cell Biology. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Ron Vale". University of California, San Francisco. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  4. ^ "Vale Lab". University of California, San Francisco. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "ASCB Presidents". American Society for Cell Biology. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Ron Vale Named Next Executive Director of Janelia Research Campus and HHMI Vice President". Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "Biographical Notes of Laureates". Shaw Prize Foundation. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Vale, Ronald D.; Peterson, Scott W.; Matiuk, Nicholas V.; Fox, C. Fred (March 1984). "Purified plasma membranes inhibit polypeptide growth factor-induced DNA synthesis in subconfluent 3T3 cells". Journal of Cell Biology. 98 (3): 1129–1132. doi:10.1083/jcb.98.3.1129. PMC 2113147. PMID 6607925.
  9. ^ Vale, Ronald D.; De Lean, Andre; Lefkowitz, Robert J.; Stadel, Jeffrey M. (November 1982). "Regulation of insulin receptors in frog erythrocytes by insulin and concanavalin A. Evidence for discrete classes of insulin binding sites". Molecular Pharmacology. 22 (3): 619–626. PMID 6759916.
  10. ^ Vale, Ronald D. (October 5, 2012). "How lucky can one be? A perspective from a young scientist at the right place at the right time". Nature Medicine. 18 (10): 1486–1488. doi:10.1038/nm.2925. PMID 23042358. S2CID 205390017.
  11. ^ a b c Azvolinsky, Anna (September 2017). "Motor Man". The Scientist. Profile: 30988.
  12. ^ Schnapp, Bruce J.; Vale, Ronald D.; Sheetz, Michael P.; Reese, Thomas S. (February 1985). "Single microtubules from squid axoplasm support bidirectional movement of organelles". Cell. 40 (2): 455–462. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(85)90160-6. PMID 2578325. S2CID 503297.
  13. ^ Vale, Ronald D.; Schnapp, Bruce J.; Reese, Thomas S.; Sheetz, Michael P. (March 1985). "Organelle, bead, and microtubule translocations promoted by soluble factors from the squid giant axon". Cell. 40 (3): 559–569. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(85)90204-1. PMID 2578887. S2CID 23387327.
  14. ^ Vale, Ronald D.; Reese, Thomas S.; Sheetz, Michael P. (August 1985). "Identification of a Novel Force-Generating Protein, Kinesin, Involved in Microtubule-Based Motility". Cell. 42 (1): 39–50. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(85)80099-4. PMC 2851632. PMID 3926325.
  15. ^ Vale, Ron. "Autobiography of Ronald D. Vale". The Shaw Prize. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  16. ^ Vale, Ronald D. (February 22, 1991). "Severing of stable microtubules by a mitotically activated protein in Xenopus egg extracts". Cell. 64 (4): 827–839. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(91)90511-V. PMID 1671762. S2CID 17047599.
  17. ^ McNally, Francis J.; Vale, Ronald D. (November 3, 1993). "Identification of katanin, an ATPase that severs and disassembles stable microtubules". Cell. 75 (3): 419–429. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(93)90377-3. PMID 8221885. S2CID 10264319.
  18. ^ Kull, F. Jon; Sablin, Elena P.; Lau, Rebecca; Fletterick, Robert J.; Vale, Ronald D. (April 11, 1996). "Crystal structure of the kinesin motor domain reveals a structural similarity to myosin". Nature. 380 (6574): 550–555. Bibcode:1996Natur.380..550J. doi:10.1038/380550a0. PMC 2851642. PMID 8606779.
  19. ^ Kull, F. Jon; Sablin, Elena; Lau, Rebecca; et al. (April 11, 1996). "Crystal structure of the kinesin motor domain reveals a structural similarity to myosin". Nature. 380 (6574): 550–555. Bibcode:1996Natur.380..550J. doi:10.1038/380550a0. PMC 2851642. PMID 8606779.
  20. ^ Reck-Peterson, Samara L.; Yildiz, Ahmet; Carter, Andrew P.; Gennerich, Arne; Zhang, Nan; Vale, Ronald D. (July 28, 2006). "Single-molecule analysis of dynein processivity and stepping behavior". Cell. 126 (2): 335–348. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.05.046. PMC 2851639. PMID 16873064.
  21. ^ Carter, Andrew P.; Garbarino, Joan E.; Wilson-Kubalek, Elizabeth M.; Shipley, Wesley E.; Cho, Carol; Milligan, Ronald A.; Vale, Ronald D.; Gibbons, Ian R. (December 12, 2008). "Structure and Functional Role of Dynein's Microtubule-Binding Domain". Science. 322 (5908): 1691–1695. Bibcode:2008Sci...322.1691C. doi:10.1126/science.1164424. PMC 2663340. PMID 19074350.
  22. ^ Carter, Andrew P.; Cho, Carol; Jin, Lan; Vale, Ronald D. (March 4, 2011). "Crystal Structure of the Dynein Motor Domain". Science. 331 (6021): 1159–1165. Bibcode:2011Sci...331.1159C. doi:10.1126/science.1202393. PMC 3169322. PMID 21330489.
  23. ^ James, John R.; Vale, Ronald D. (July 5, 2012). "Biophysical Mechanism of T Cell Receptor Triggering in a Reconstituted System". Nature. 487 (7405): 64–69. Bibcode:2012Natur.487...64J. doi:10.1038/nature11220. PMC 3393772. PMID 22763440.
  24. ^ Jain, Ankur; Vale, Ronald D. (June 8, 2017). "RNA Phase Transitions in Repeat Expansion Disorders". Nature. 546 (7657): 243–247. Bibcode:2017Natur.546..243J. doi:10.1038/nature22386. PMC 5555642. PMID 28562589.
  25. ^ @explorebiology (September 30, 2019). "The Explorer's Guide to Biology" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "The Explorer's Guide to Biology". will rutter design. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  27. ^ "Micro-Manager Open Source Microscopy Software". Micro-Manager. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  28. ^ "Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry" (PDF). Division of Biological Chemistry, American Chemical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  29. ^ "Ronald D. Vale". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  30. ^ "Professor Ronald D. Vale". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  31. ^ "Keith R. Porter Lecture Award". American Society for Cell Biology. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  32. ^ "Past Winners of the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences". Wiley Foundation. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  33. ^ "2012 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  34. ^ "Ronald D. Vale". European Molecular Biology Organization. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  35. ^ "Massry Prize Winners ( 1996 – Present )". Keck School of Medicine of USC. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  36. ^ "Ronald D. Vale, Ph.D." National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  37. ^ "Foreign Fellow Details". Indian National Science Academy. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  38. ^ "Announcement of The Shaw Laureates 2017" (Press release). Shaw Prize Foundation. June 17, 2017. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  39. ^ 2019 Canada Gairdner International Award
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