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Three researchers selected as newest UTSW Endowed Scholars

Three people in white lab coats smiling
From left: Drs. Jian Zhou, Assistant Professor, Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics; Anju Sreelatha, Assistant Professor of Physiology; and Lu Su, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology

UT Southwestern’s latest class of Endowed Scholars in Medical Science includes researchers focused on proteins implicated in disease, new treatments for neurological disorders, and the human genome. Each Scholar will receive four years of financial support, from 2020-2023, to conduct cutting-edge research as a tenure-track Assistant Professor.

The Endowed Scholars Program, established in 1998 with $60 million in philanthropic funds, is designed to support early career clinical or basic science research.

“The early career scientists selected for this high honor bring exciting new research projects to our campus,” said Dr. David Mangelsdorf, Chair of the Endowed Scholar Committee, Chair of Pharmacology, and Professor of Pharmacology and Biochemistry. “They – and this program – contribute to UT Southwestern’s culture of supporting and celebrating discovery.”

Learn more about each of the Endowed Scholars in this 22nd Class in their own words:

Dr. Anju Sreelatha, Assistant Professor of Physiology

W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research

Woman with dark hair, floral pattern dress wearing a lab coat
Dr. Anju Sreelatha

What led to a career in research: My interest in science was sparked by my high school chemistry teachers, Brian Cook and Heather Voltz. My love for chemistry led me to pursue research in the laboratory of Dr. Warren Goux as an undergraduate sophomore and Dr. Malu Tansey as a UT Dallas Green Fellow. During this time, I realized how much I enjoyed working in a lab and found scientific research exciting and invigorating.

Research focus: I study the molecular mechanisms of selenoproteins in health and disease. Selenoproteins are a unique family of proteins that incorporate the micronutrient selenium in the form of the 21st genetically encoded amino acid, selenocysteine. Several human selenoproteins are implicated in various diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular and neurological disorders. My research aims to determine the biochemical activity and physiological relevance of selenoproteins using a multidisciplinary approach with structural biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology. 

Ultimate career goal: To mentor the next generation of scientists and conduct rigorous and transformative research to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease. 

Dr. Lu Sun, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology

Southwestern Medical Foundation Scholar in Biomedical Research

Man with dark hair, glasses, blue collared shirt wearing a white lab coat
Dr. Lu Sun

What led to a career in research: I was introduced to modern biology by my high school biology teacher in China. In 2002, I was lucky to be selected to compete at the 13th International Biology Olympiad for high school students and won a silver medal. I then studied biology at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where I became extremely interested in how the brain is assembled and functions. After graduation from Tsinghua, I was admitted to the Neuroscience Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Research focus: The goal of my laboratory is to understand the fundamental principles governing neuron-glia interactions in health and disease. In vertebrates, including humans, nearly half of the brain cells are non-neuronal cells.  Most of them are so-called glial cells, which are critical for normal nervous system function. Despite decades of research, how glial cells develop and how they communicate with neurons and other cell types remains a mystery. Our present work focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying central nervous system myelination, the enclosure of nerve fibers in a myelin sheath. We are also interested in developing novel glia-based toolkits to better understand how the nervous system is assembled and disintegrated by glia. This will help us better characterize many neurological disorders that are associated with glial dysfunction, including white matter injury, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ultimate career goal: To translate what I learn in the laboratory to medications for patients who suffer from neurological disorders. Growing evidence shows that the most abundant cells in the brain, the glial cells, are responsible for many neurological disorders. My research will provide a unique perspective to better understand the etiology and progression of these disorders, and will eventually help us develop better medicines to combat these diseases.  My other career goal is to provide a nurturing environment for the next generation of leaders in biomedical research.

Dr. Jian Zhou, Assistant Professor, Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics

Lupe Murchison Foundation Scholar in Medical Research

Man with dark hair, thin framed glasses, grey collared shirt wearing a white lab coat
Dr. Jian Zhou

What led to a career in research: Research is an ideal job since it provides the freedom to pursue my interests while at work – I can do it all day without feeling like it is work and it is also a lot of fun. I especially like working with data and computational algorithms as that allows one to try out a high number of new ideas within hours or days, so the research can evolve very fast.

Research focus: My research area is computational genomics with machine learning and statistical approaches. Understanding how the genome operates at the sequence level is a primary focus. Even though we now know a lot about the regulatory functions of the genome, how such regulatory programs are encoded in the gene sequence and how to accurately extract such information from sequences are still new, underexplored territories. My lab aims to gain an increasingly complete understanding of genomic sequence and build a realistic “in silico,” or computational, model of the genome.

Ultimate career goal: To gain a complete understanding of the genomic sequence and build increasingly realistic computer models of it. But “ultimate career goal” sounds like somewhere we will never get to or that I would stop at. So I would not say a specific research question is an ultimate goal. Doing the kind of science I am happy with is both my most basic and ultimate goal.

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