Rebecca W. Heald is an American professor of cell and
developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...
. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. In May 2019, she was elected to 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 ...
. She has published over 120 research articles in peer reviewed journals.
Education and academic appointments
Heald grew up in
Greenville, Pennsylvania
Greenville is a borough with home rule status in northwestern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Shenango River, it lies roughly 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It is 1.89 square miles in area, and had a ...
, and graduated from
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
. She said she was inspired by "Biochemistry Professor, Donna Brown. I barely had a clue about what I was doing, but discovered the joy of pipeting colorless liquids from tube to tube." She received her Ph.D. from
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
, where she worked in the laboratory of Frank McKeon. She was a
postdoctoral researcher
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...
with Eric Karsenti at the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 27 member states, two prospect states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in 1974 and ...
in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Germany. She joined the faculty at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1997, and has held the Flora Lamson Hewlett Chair of Biochemistry since 2011. In addition to running her research group, from 2018-2021 she served as a regional associate dean for research administration and she is currently co-chair of the department of Molecular and Cell Biology.
Research
Heald studies topics in
cell biology
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...
and
developmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...
cell division
Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...
Xenopus laevis
The African clawed frog (''Xenopus laevis'', also known as the xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the ''platanna'') is a species of African aquatic frog of the family Pipidae. Its name is derived from the three short claws ...
'' and the related, smaller frog ''
Xenopus tropicalis
The western clawed frog (''Xenopus tropicalis'') is a species of frog in the family Pipidae, also known as tropical clawed frog. It is the only species in the genus ''Xenopus'' to have a diploid genome. Its genome has been sequenced, making it a ...
'' to study the behavior and size scaling of the
mitotic spindle
In cell biology, the spindle apparatus refers to the cytoskeletal structure of eukaryotic cells that forms during cell division to separate sister chromatids between daughter cells. It is referred to as the mitotic spindle during mitosis, a pr ...
. She has shown that the volume of the cytoplasm in which a spindle forms is a key factor in regulating the size of the spindle, addressing an important problem in cell biology, that of how cells sense and control the size of their
organelle
In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function. The name ''organelle'' comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as organs are to the body, hence ''organelle,'' the ...
s. She identified a biochemical modification of the nuclear transport receptor
importin α
Importin alpha, or karyopherin alpha refers to a class of adaptor proteins that are involved in the import of proteins into the cell nucleus. They are a sub-family of karyopherin proteins.
Importin α is known to bind to the nuclear localizatio ...
as a sensor that scales intracellular structures to cell size.
Advocacy for collaborative structures in science
Heald has written about the challenges of starting a lab as a new Assistant Professor, and the benefits of collaborating with her neighbors Matt Welch and Karsten Weis to create a nurturing scientific and educational environment.
National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award
National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award is a research initiative first announced in 2004 designed to support individual scientists' biomedical research. The focus is specifically on "pioneering" research that is highly innovative ...
.
• 2010 and 2016:
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
American Society for Cell Biology
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.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 ...
Journal of Cell Biology
The ''Journal of Cell Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press.
History
In the early 1950s, a small group of biologists began to explore intracellular anatomy using the emerging technology of ele ...
and
Developmental Cell
''Developmental Cell'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of cell and developmental biology. The journal was established in 2001, and is edited by Julie Sollier. It published by Cell Press, an imprint of Elsevier, and its articles becomes open ...
. She is currently an editor for the Proceedings of the National Acaemy of Sciences and a co-author of textbooks
Molecular Biology of the Cell
''Molecular Biology of the Cell'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Cell Biology
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) is a professional society that was founded in 1960.