| 1 | Name: | Dr. Susan L. Lindquist | |
| Institution: | Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | ||
| Year Elected: | 2003 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 207. Genetics | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1948 | ||
| Death Date: | October 27, 2016 | ||
Susan Lindquist was a worldwide leader in the understanding of protein folding in living cells, of enzymes that mediate this process, and of perturbations that result in the formation of abnormal protein aggregates. Some of these aggregates, called prions, are infectious: they can cause abnormal folding and aggregation of otherwise normal proteins. The work of Dr. Lindquist has been instrumental to our understanding of these processes, which underlie major neurodegenerative diseases. Yet another singular contribution by Dr. Lindquist was her discovery that HSP90, a stress protein, functions as a "capacitor" of phenotypic variation, through the ability of HSP90 to buffer against genetic alterations of biochemical pathways, thereby increasing the diversity of phenotypes available for natural selection. This insight revealed a previously unsuspected source of variation that underlies the evolution of living organisms. From 2001 until 2004 Dr. Lindquist directed the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. She served as professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1976 and previously taught at the University of Chicago (1978-2001). She was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2010. Susan Lindquist died October 27, 2016, at the age of 67. | |||