Gertrud Schüpbach
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Trudi Schüpbach (born Zurich, Switzerland, February 3, 1950; full name Gertrud M. Schüpbach; published name Trudi Schüpbach) is a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
- American
molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
. She is an Emeritus Professor of
Molecular Biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, where her laboratory studies molecular and genetic mechanisms in fruit fly (''
Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...
'')
oogenesis Oogenesis () or ovogenesis is the differentiation of the ovum (egg cell) into a cell competent to further develop when fertilized. It is developed from the primary oocyte by maturation. Oogenesis is initiated before birth during embryonic devel ...
.


Research

Schüpbach's research focuses on signaling pathways that are involved in pattern formation during embryonic development. Using the fruit fly (''
Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...
'') as a model system, she revealed molecular mechanisms underlying the determination of the major axis of the embryo. Performing genetic screens, she identified mutants that result in female sterility of which many affect embryonic body patterning. By that, she contributed to the understanding of maternal factors that are deposited into the forming egg during oogenesis and that are conferred into spatial information within the developing embryo to demarcate distinct functional regions.


Life

Schüpbach received her Ph.D. in Biology from the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, Switzerland, where she also performed her first postdoctoral work before she continued as a postdoc at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. In 1990 she was appointed as Associate Professor and promoted to Full Professor in 1994 at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
. Schüpbach is married to Nobel laureate and fellow biologist
Eric F. Wieschaus Eric Francis Wieschaus (born June 8, 1947 in South Bend, Indiana) is an American evolutionary developmental biologist and 1995 Nobel Prize-winner. Early life Born in South Bend, Indiana, he attended John Carroll Catholic High School in Birming ...
.


Honors

* 1981 Alfred Schlafli Prize for thesis research awarded by Swiss Zoological Society * 1999 Elected Fellow,
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
* 2000 Elected Associate Member
European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...
* 2005 Elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...
* 2006 Edwin F. Conklin Medal, Society for Developmental Biology * 2007 Elected Fellow,
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
* 2011 Honorary Degree,
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, Switzerland


Trivia

Genetic screenings for
maternal effect A maternal effect is a situation where the phenotype of an organism is determined not only by the environment it experiences and its genotype, but also by the environment and genotype of its mother. In genetics, maternal effects occur when an orga ...
"grandchildless" mutants resulted in the identification of a set of genes that are essential for the patterning of the egg and developing embryo. Many of the affected genes were named by Trudi Schüpbach after royal dynasties that extinguished due to the lack of offspring such as '' staufen, vasa, valois'' and '' tudor''.


References


External links


Princeton University faculty profile

Schüpbach lab page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schupbach, Gertrud Swiss biologists Princeton University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American geneticists Living people 1950 births