Sara A. Courtneidge is a cancer research scientist.
Education and research
Courtneidge was a very young child when she decided that she wanted to be a scientist. Years later, she earned her Bachelor of Science certificate in Biochemistry from the
University of Leeds
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
and her PhD at the
National Institute for Medical Research.
After receiving her PhD, Courtneidge accepted a research position with
J. Michael Bishop at
The University of California, Berkeley where she began her research on the
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src.
Courtneidge's most notable finding is her discovery of the link between the
T antigen of
polyomavirus and
c-Src
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src, also known as proto-oncogene c-Src, or simply c-Src (cellular Src; pronounced "sarc", as it is short for sarcoma), is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SRC'' gene ...
. Along with this finding, Courtneidge determined that Src is negatively activated through its association with
tyrosine kinase
A tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that can transfer a phosphate group from ATP to the tyrosine residues of specific proteins inside a cell. It functions as an "on" or "off" switch in many cellular functions.
Tyrosine kinases belong to a larger cla ...
.
Career
Throughout her career, Courtneidge has held many leadership roles in numerous scientific communities. Some of these communities include
The Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Courtneidge served as the Distinguished Scientific Investigator of Signal Regulation and Cancer,
Sugen, Inc. where Courtneidge acted as Chief Scientist and Vice President of Research, and
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory where she worked as both Group Leader and Senior Scientist. Courtneidge was also appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of TargeGen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in California which focuses on vascular biology and the development of methods to treat cancer and
ischemic diseases.
Courtneidge received the
AACR-Women in Cancer Research
Charlotte Friend
Charlotte Friend (March 11, 1921 – January 13, 1987) was an American virologist. She is best known for her discovery of the Friend leukemia virus. She helped to establish the concept of the oncovirus, studied the role of the host immune respon ...
Memorial Lectureship in 2015. This lecture is awarded to a scientist who has made impressive achievements in cancer research and has served as an outstanding leader to others.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtneidge, Sara A.
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Alumni of the University of Leeds
Cancer researchers