University of Oregon scientist Brad J. Nolen is completing his second year among the ranks of exceptional young researchers in the field of biochemical study.
Nolen, who studies the molecular basis for actin formation in cells, is a Pew Biomedical Scholar, a title and financial award granted by the Pew Charitable Trusts foundation.
The award is granted every year to a group of relatively young researchers who demonstrate excellence in the field of life sciences related to biochemical study. Nolen was among the 22 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences named in 2011.
"It's a very prestigious organization, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I do believe it will help me in the future," said Nolen, an assistant professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics and member of the UO Institute of Molecular Biology.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving public policy and global research through thorough rigorous analysis and public outreach, based in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Since 1985, the Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Science has awarded more than $130 million to more than 500 researchers.
The award provides $240,000 to recipients over four years, during which the researchers must provide an annual progress report. Previous recipients have gone on to win Nobel Prizes or other awards.
Nolen investigates the molecular basis for the regulation of a cell's cytoskeleton, the protein filaments that give a cell its structure. The cytoskeleton is a complicated network of actin proteins that are constantly assembled and disassembled in response to signals within the cell.
Many complex proteins are involved in these networks, and Nolen's lab is specifically looking at one important protein in actin fiber assembly. Viruses and bacteria use the cytoskeleton to invade human cells, and cancer cells depend on the cytoskeleton to spread.
"Improving our understanding of the molecules that constitute this machinery will contribute to our understanding of diseased states in humans and how to treat them," Nolen said.
Using a combination of biophysics, cell biology and now X-ray crystallography, Nolen’s lab explores the regulation of these processes. Nolen's research is heavily supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
Nolen earned a bachelor's degree in 1997 at Missouri State University, a master's degree in 1999 at the University of California San Diego, and a doctorate from UC-San Diego. He completed his postdoctoral work at Yale University in 2008 before coming to the UO.
- by JoAnna Wendel, for the UO Office of Research, Innovation and Graduate Education