Sarah Spiegel is professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

(VCU). In the mid-1990s she discovered the

sphingosine-1-phosphate Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a signaling sphingolipid, also known as lysosphingolipid. It is also referred to as a bioactive lipid mediator. Sphingolipids at large form a class of lipids characterized by a particular aliphatic aminoalcohol, ...

(S1P) molecule, a

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

which has been identified as a signaler for the spread of

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 ...

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

, and

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

. Her research continues to focus on S1P.

Education

Sarah Spiegel received her Bachelor of Science degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

in 1974. She did graduate work in biochemistry under Professor

Meir Wilchek Meir Wilchek (Hebrew: מאיר אשר וילצ'ק, born 17 October 1935) is an Israeli biochemist. He is a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Early life and education Meir Wilchek was born in Warsaw, Poland, scion of a rabbinical fa ...

at the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

, Israel, where she earned her PhD in biochemistry in 1983, before relocating to the United States.

Career

Spiegel did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Membrane Biochemistry Section at the

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It conducts and funds research on brain and nervous system disorders and has a budget of just over US$2.03 billion. The ...

at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, from 1984 to 1986. She then moved to

Georgetown University School of Medicine Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools. It is located on Reservoir Road in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, adjacent to the University's ...

to serve as assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1987 to 1992, and associate professor and director of the graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology from 1992 to 1996. This was followed by a full professorship in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University Medical School from 1996 to 2001. Spiegel became professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at

in 2002, a position she holds to this day. Since 2005, she has also served as director of the Cancer Cell Biology Program at the

VCU Massey Cancer Center Founded in 1974, VCU Massey Cancer Center is a non-profit organization part of Virginia Commonwealth University. Located in Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of the nation's top research universities, and VCU Medical Ce ...

S1P research

Spiegel is credited with the discovery of the

(S1P) molecule in the mid-1990s. This molecule has been identified as a signaler in the spread of cancer, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. In 2013 Spiegel and Santiago Lima reported the discovery of the atomic structure of the enzyme

sphingosine kinase 1 Sphingosine kinase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''SPHK1'' gene. Sphingosine kinase 1 phosphorylates sphingosine to sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) SK1 is normally a cytosolic protein but is recruited to membranes rich in phospha ...

, which produces the S1P molecule. Spiegel's research has been continually funded for a period of nearly 20 years by grants from the

. In 2003 she was awarded the

National Institutes of Health MERIT Award The NIH MERIT award (Method To Extend Research in Time) Award (R37) was created by the National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary age ...

for further research on S1P. She is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences.

Other activities

Since 2000, she has served on the editorial boards of the ''

Journal of Biological Chemistry The ''Journal of Biological Chemistry'' (''JBC'') is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1905., jbc.org Since 1925, it is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It covers research in ...

'', ''Glycoconjugate Journal'', ''

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta ''Biochimica et Biophysica Acta'' (''BBA'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of biochemistry and biophysics that was established in 1947. The journal is published by Elsevier with a total of 100 annual issues in ten specialised ...

'', and ''Signal Transduction''.

Awards and honors

*2007: VCU Women in Science, Dentistry and Medicine Professional Achievement Award *2007: University Distinguished Scholarship Award *2008: Virginia's Outstanding Scientist (HighBeam subscription) *2009 Avanti Award in Lipids

Selected bibliography

Books

* (with T. Levade and Yusuf A. Hannun)

Articles

* * * * * *

References

External links

List of publications by Sarah Spiegel
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'', May 26, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spiegel, Sarah Women molecular biologists Women biochemists Cell biologists Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Weizmann Institute of Science alumni Virginia Commonwealth University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Georgetown University Medical Center faculty Living people American women scientists American women academics 21st-century American women