Biography ida stephens owens

Ida Stephens Owens

American scientist (–)

Ida Stephens Owens (September 13, – Feb 24, ) was an Denizen scientist known for her exertion with drug-detoxifying enzymes. She established her Ph.D from Duke Organization in , making her incontestable of the first two Human Americans to receive a degree from the school. She bushed her career at the Own Institutes of Health (NIH), situation she worked from to last pioneered the study of authority genetics of human diseases cope with drug metabolism.[3][4]

Early life

Ida Virginia Stephens Owens grew up on calligraphic farm in the small township of Whiteville, North Carolina.[5] Show mother died when she was six years old.[5]

Education

Owens' early care was in segregated public schools.[5] Owens then attended North Carolina College, now North Carolina Main University, graduating in summa cum laude in Biology (B.S.) person in charge Mathematics (minor).[3][6] After graduating, she was employed as a lab assistant at a National Study Foundation Summer Institute for Extraordinary School Teachers at North Carolina College, and she spent nifty summer in the lab spick and span Daniel C. Tosteson in grandeur Department of Physiology at Aristocrat University.[7][8] Then, in , she began her Ph.D. studies get the message biochemistry and physiology in character laboratory Jacob J. Blum unexpected result Duke shortly after the institution racially integrated its graduate professor professional schools.[3][7] When she progressive in , she became susceptible of two first African Americans, the first woman, to take a Ph.D. from Duke Creation and the first woman prospect receive any degree in physiology from Duke.[3][8]

Scientific career

After graduating, Athlete held a postdoctoral position assume the NIH, first at leadership then-called National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolic, and Digestive Diseases acquit yourself the Laboratory of Biochemistry take Metabolism and then in magnanimity National Institute of Child Nausea and Human Development (NICHD) unadorned the Section on Developmental Medicine in the Laboratory of Biomedical Sciences.[4] During this time, she focused on how drugs evacuate chemically processed in the body.[9] In , Owens began want lead her own independent enquiry group at NIH NICHD surrounded by the Section on Drug Biotransformation, which later became the Fall to pieces on Genetic Disorders of Analgesic Metabolism.[4] She was the culminating African American investigator at NIH.[10] Starting in , Owens has directed NICHD's Section on Tribal Disorders of Drug Metabolism deduct the Program on Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics.[3][9]

Scientific advancements

Owens' postdoctoral gratuitous sparked her specific interest conduct yourself a critical group of enzymes, called UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (abbreviated UGTs), which allow the body to detox harmful drugs, chemicals, and bug toxins.[3][4] By designing methods tinge research the genes that principle for specific UGT enzymes, she identified a complex of 13 genes known as UGT1A.[4] See lab showed that one dominate these genes, UGT1A1, processes description protein bilirubin, which is boss breakdown product of hemoglobin.[4]

Owens' investigating group has subsequently made multifarious advancements regarding UGT enzyme collection. Her laboratory was the primary to identify a genetic dot in the gene UGT1A1 rove leads to Crigler–Najjar syndrome.[4] Crigler–Najjar syndrome is a disorder make certain disrupts normal modification and explode of bilirubin, leading to jaundice.[3] Owens' research group also unflinching that UGT enzymes must aside activated before they can detoxicate foreign chemicals and that pavement some cases suppressing these enzymes could enhance the effects deadly therapeutic drugs.[11] Owens' laboratory make imperceptible that activity of UGT enzymes can be lessened by kinase inhibitors and that protein kinase C and tyrosine kinase enzymes can alter the enzyme specificity, likely contributing to their capacity to detoxify a wide bracket together of foreign chemicals.[9]

Honors

Owens received high-mindedness NIH Director's Award and, amplify , the Duke University Measure out School's first Distinguished Alumni Award.[3] In addition, in , birth American Asthma Foundation recognized Athlete for being among the take into the public sector 5% of cited authors focal pharmacology journals.[3]

References

  1. ^Snowden Funeral Home: Dr. Ida S. Owens
  2. ^In Memoriam: Ida Stephens Owens,
  3. ^ abcdefghi"Ida Stephens Owens Named First Recipient run through The Graduate School Distinguished Alumni Award". Duke Graduate School. Retrieved
  4. ^ abcdefg"Item of Interest: Ida Owens, Longtime NICHD Scientist Dies". National Institute of Child Variable and Human Development. 5 Walk Retrieved
  5. ^ abcWeiss, Ivan (Director) (). The Education of Ida Owens: Science, Civil Rights, view the Integration of Duke University. Durham, N.C.
  6. ^"Duke Alumni Women's Weekend "(PDF). Retrieved
  7. ^ ab"Graduate Faculty Honors Owens with Documentary have a view of Her Experience | Duke Proportion School". . Retrieved
  8. ^ ab"Mrs. I. Stephens Owens to Order Ph.D. Degree from Duke Univ". The Carolina Times. Durham. N.C. Retrieved
  9. ^ abc"NICHD Staff Assiduousness for Ida Owens". National Association of Child Health & Being Development. Retrieved
  10. ^"Board of Methodical Counselors Minutes, December 1, "(PDF). Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institution of Child Health and Hominoid Development Division of Intramural Research. Retrieved
  11. ^Carey, Charles W. Jr. (). African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People boss Progress. Vol.&#;1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN&#;.

External links