Brenda Jean Andrews is a Canadian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

and

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

specializing in

systems biology Systems biology is the computational modeling, computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological syst ...

and

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

. Andrews is known for her studies on cell cycle-regulated transcription and protein kinase function in yeast and for pioneering work with Charles Boone on genetic networks. As an example, in 2015, Andrews co-led a team of biology scientists at the University of Toronto's Donnelly Centre to create the first ever fully detailed protein map of a cell, the map showed the location of all protein in a cell, the project aimed to benefit and help increase research for

cancer cells Cancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these d ...

. The research consisted of data gatherings from 20 million cells. Andrews' research aims at showing the complexity of a single gene and how it interacts with multiple genes. Andrews is currently University Professor in the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research and the Department of Molecular Genetics at the

University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine The Temerty Faculty of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being k ...

where she also directs ''Andrews Lab''. She is noted for her research and publications relating to genetics and

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

s. In 2017, Andrews was named as a University Professor, the highest faculty honor at UofT. In 2020, she was honoured to be an international member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Education

Andrews graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

where she received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

in 1980 and later with a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

medical biophysics Medical physics deals with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a specific goal of improving human health and well-being. Since 2008, medical physics has been incl ...

in 1986. She later went to the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

for her post-doctorate training directed by geneticist

Ira Herskowitz Ira Herskowitz (July 14, 1946 – April 28, 2003) was an American phage and yeast geneticist geneticist who studied genetic regulatory circuits and mechanisms. He was particularly noted for his work on mating type switching and cellular different ...

in 1991. She later returned to the University of Toronto for teaching and researching positions, where she became an assistant professor and later became chair for the Department of Medical Genetics. After serving as Chair of Medical Genetics for 5 years, Andrews took a position Chair of the Banting & Best Department of Medical Research and as the inaugural Director of the Donnelly Centre. She continued as Director of the Donnelly Centre and Charles H Best Chair of Medical Research until 2020 and was named a University Professor in 2017. Dr. Andrews is a Companion of the Order of Canada, an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology, and an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA). She has been a speaker and keynoted at many international conferences, events and at other universities. Andrews has been a figure in voicing concerns of lack of scientific research funding from the federal government and promotes increased funding for lab research in Canada. She is the current and founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

scientific journal '' G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics'' by the

Genetics Society of America The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is a scholarly membership society of more than 5,500 genetics researchers and educators, established in 1931. The Society was formed from the reorganization of the Joint Genetics Sections of the American Soc ...

Awards

In December 2015, Andrews was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

as a companion, the highest grade of the order, for her contributions in systems biology research and contributions to research in molecular genetics. Andrews was elected as a fellow for the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

in 2005 and holds numerous awards and memberships relating to the sciences including elected fellow of the American Society for Microbiology,

fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

and senior fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research where she became the director for the institute's genetics research area. Other awards includes: *Premier's Research Excellence Award *Fellowship & scientist at the Medical Research Council of Canada (now known as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) *Ira Herskowitz Award, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Brenda Systems biologists University of Toronto alumni University of California, San Francisco alumni Living people Academic staff of the University of Toronto Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Companions of the Order of Canada Canadian women biologists Canadian geneticists Canadian women geneticists Women biophysicists 1957 births Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian expatriates in the United States Academic journal editors Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology 21st-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists