2002 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Awards

From the invisible interactions between biomolecules to the relationship between legal institutions and the workings of legal precedent, the research being undertaken by this year’s Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award winners is as intricate in study as its applications are global in scope.

Linda Jen-Jacobson, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is focusing her research efforts on visualizing the “invisible” interactions between proteins and DNA, two important biomolecules.

Using highly specialized enzymes, chemical thermodynamics, and kinetics to assess how proteins and DNA interact, Jen-Jacobson found that proteins interact with more than one component of the DNA molecule and that the proteins actually recognize the shape of the DNA.

Protein-DNA interaction is vital in DNA replication and modification and in gene expression. By studying the way proteins and DNA interact, Jen-Jacobson hopes her research will aid in the understanding of diseases that result from the failure of specific protein-DNA interactions and the potential engineering of “designer proteins” that can interact with DNA in a way that can control the activities of genes involved in disease processes.

Anna Balazs, the Robert Von der Luft Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, is making state-of-the-art advances in understanding the physical chemistry of polymers. Balazs uses statistical mechanics and computer simulations to model the properties and behavior of polymer blends. She also investigates the interactions of polymers at surfaces and interfaces, focusing on promoting adhesion among polymers.

Balazs turns part of her research attention to the role of polymers in biophysics, where she studies micelle formation, the controlled release of drugs through porous polymers, and the binding of ligands to biopolymers.

Balazs has achieved preeminence in the field of polymeric physical chemistry and has compiled a substantial and continuing record of outstanding research and scholarly activity.

Scott G. Nelson, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, is developing new reaction technology to rapidly, efficiently, and economically construct small-molecule building blocks. Nelson is directing his current research efforts to the development of asymmetric catalytic syntheses of a wide range of pharmacologically active molecules.

In addition to developing new reaction design, Nelson also is developing unique catalyst designs. New or “nontraditional” reactions that form single carbon bonds have emerged from his reaction design research. His work is at the forefront of asymmetric catalysis.

Johnny Huard, associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry in the School of Medicine, and director of the Growth and Development Laboratory at Children’s Hospital, is making significant advances in the isolation, identification, and characterization of muscle-derived stem cells.

A few years ago, Huard discovered stem cells in muscle, a place no one had looked before. Since that groundbreaking discovery, he has continued to study muscle-derived stem cells in addition to gene therapy and tissue engineering techniques in his search for ways to repair, replace, reconstruct, and regenerate damaged or diseased tissue of the musculoskeletal system.

Huard’s lab is developing strategies to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and is collaborating with many departments at Pitt–Orthopaedic Surgery, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Radiation Oncology, Neurology, Cell Biology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Urology – on a number of ongoing studies.

Arthur Hellman, professor in the School of Law, has achieved a national reputation for his empirical studies of precedent in both the United States Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. One aspect of Hellman’s research focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court’s role in resolving conflicts between lower courts on issues of federal law.

A highly regarded scholar of the federal appellate courts, Hellman has received notice and recognition from policy makers, who have turned to his research while developing legislation and other key documents. In 1995, the Judicial Conference of the United States relied on Hellman’s research to develop a key recommendation in its Long-Range Plan. More recently, Hellman was thanked publicly by the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts of the House Judiciary Committee for his help in drafting the Judicial Improvements Act of 2002, a bill that was introduced in the House of Representatives this spring. • AP