06/24/05

Porter Lecture

Cell Division: From Inoué to New Cancer Drugs
Timothy J. Mitchison, Harvard Medical School

Introduction by Thoru Pederson, University of Massachusetts Medical School


Lecture Abstract:
I am interested in the mechanism of cell division, and in how we can exploit differences in cell division between normal and cancer cells to develop more effective and less toxic anti-cancer drugs.   To split their chromosomes in two during division, cells assemble a beautiful, transient structure called the mitotic spindle, made of microtubules and motor proteins.  The dynamic nature of spindles was discovered by MBL scientist Shinya Inoué in the 1950s using polarization microscopy.  During my Ph.D., I found a molecular mechanism underlying aspects of spindle dynamics, and became fascinated by spindles.  My lab probes spindle dynamics using microscopy and biochemistry, trying to discover how it is built, and how it works.   I also pursue these questions collaboratively at the MBL.  Recently, I started working with chemists to make drugs that disrupt spindles in new ways.  Dangerous cancer cells often have defects in spindle organization, and I believe it will be possible to make drugs that block cell division in cancer cells, while sparing normal dividing cells.

Timothy J. Mitchison is the Hassib Sabbagh Professor of Systems Biology and Deputy Chair of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Co-Director of the MBL’s Physiology Course.  He received a B.A. in Biochemistry from Merton College, Oxford in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of California, San Francisco in 1984.  After completing a postdoctoral research fellowship in the department of Biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, Mitchison served as an Independent Research Fellow at the National Institute for Medical Research, London from 1985 to 1986.  He joined the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, in 1987, and moved to Harvard Medical School in 1997.  Mitchison is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a member of the American Society of Cell Biology, and the recipient of several honors and awards, including the Packard Research Fellowship, and the Searle Scholarship.

Thoru Pederson is the Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, and Director of the Worcester Foundation at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Pederson joined the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research as a staff scientist in 1971. In 1985, after a series of promotions, he was named theFoundation’s President and Scientific Director. The Foundation affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1997. An expert on RNA, Dr. Pederson’s research is directed to understanding how combinations of certain proteins with RNA produce distinctive cellular machines that mediate the gene readout process. His over 140 scientific publications have earned him international stature as a leader in his field of research. Dr. Pederson is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the Royal Microscopy Society. He also serves as chairman of the MBL’s Committee on Fellowships and is an advisor to the Keith R. Porter Endowment Fund for Cell Biology.

About the Porter Lecture:
The annual Porter Lecture is held in honor of Dr. Keith Roberts Porter, a former Director of the MBL considered by many to be the "Father" of the field of cell biology. It is sponsored by the Keith R. Porter Endowment whose goal is to support communication and education in cell biology.