Joshua T. Mendell is an American molecular biologist who is a professor of molecular biology at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

, where he is a

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

Investigator. Before moving to UT Southwestern, Mendell was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute early career scientistHHMI biography
/ref> at

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

. His

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

research examines

microRNA MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21 to 23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals and some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRN ...

(miRNA) regulation and function, with particular emphasis on miRNAs and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Training and career

Mendell began working in a molecular biology laboratory when he was a teenager and continued to perform laboratory research as an undergraduate at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He graduated with a BA in 1996 and was a member of the

Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" ...

fraternity. Mendell pursued a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

and

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

at Johns Hopkins University, receiving the degrees in 2001 and 2003 respectively. He remained at Johns Hopkins as a faculty member before moving to University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2011.

Research

Mendell and members of his research group investigate post-transcriptional gene regulation. As a graduate student with Harry (Hal) Dietz at Johns Hopkins, Mendell researched how cells recognize and degrade

messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the p ...

molecules with early

stop codon In molecular biology (specifically protein biosynthesis), a stop codon (or termination codon) is a codon (nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA) that signals the termination of the translation process of the current protein. Most codons in me ...

s, a process known as

nonsense mediated decay Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance pathway that exists in all eukaryotes. Its main function is to reduce errors in gene expression by eliminating mRNA transcripts that contain premature stop codons. Translation of these aberrant ...

. Mendell's interest in RNA led him into the field of microRNA. In 2005, Mendell reported in the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' that a gene often mutated in cancer cells,

c-Myc ''Myc'' is a family of regulator genes and proto-oncogenes that code for transcription factors. The ''Myc'' family consists of three related human genes: ''c-myc'' (MYC), ''l-myc'' (MYCL), and ''n-myc'' (MYCN). ''c-myc'' (also sometimes referre ...

, influences the expression of several miRNAs encoded in a cluster on human chromosome 13. These miRNAs in turn affect the expression of a c-Myc-induced

transcription factor In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fu ...

E2F1 Transcription factor E2F1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''E2F1'' gene. Function The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the E2F family of transcription factors. The E2F family plays a crucial role in the control of cell ...

. This research demonstrated a potentially important role for miRNAs in the development of cancer. Mendell has followed up on this work with publications in high-impact journals including ''

Nature Genetics ''Nature Genetics'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 1992. It covers research in genetics. The chief editor is Tiago Faial. The journal encompasses genetic and functional genomic studi ...

'', ''

PNAS ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...

'', ''

Molecular Cell ''Molecular Cell'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers research on cell biology at the molecular level, with an emphasis on new mechanistic insights. It was established in 1997 and is published two times per month. Its 2021 impact ...

'', ''Nature'', and ''

Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

'', among others. In 2009, Mendell reported in the journal ''Cell'' that treating mice with therapeutic levels of specific miRNAs could suppress development of liver cancer. The publication generated media interest, including an article in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' asking, "Is there a secret to eternal youth?" Mendell has also published numerous review articles on miRNA regulation and function.

Family

Mendell credits his father,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

neurologist Jerry Mendell, with influencing his early interest and involvement in molecular biology research, and Mendell's first scientific publication was co-written with his father and other researchers. Mendell generated data on c-Myc and miRNAs in collaboration with Kathryn O'Donnell. Mendell and O'Donnell are now married and continue to work together on miRNA-related projects.

Awards and honors

* Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist Award (2009) * Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar (2008) * Top Young Investigator of 2007 (''Genome Technology'' Magazine, 2007) * Outstanding Young Scientist in the State of Maryland (Allan C. Davis Medal, 2007) * Rita Allen Foundation Scholar (2006) * March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Scholar (2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendell, Joshua T. American pediatricians Living people Year of birth missing (living people)