Pitt Scientist Honored by National Science Foundation

PITTSBURGH–Sunil Saxena, assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Chemistry, recently received the Faculty Early Career Development Award, the National Science Foundation's most prestigious honor for new faculty members.

Using pulsed electron spin resonance, a phenomenon that occurs when certain molecules are placed in a static magnetic field, Saxena is developing technology that allows him to examine how biological molecules organize and rearrange over time. When exposed to specifically designed bursts of oscillating magnetic fields, the molecules emit signals that indicate how the molecules move.

The NSF award will support development of new experimental designs and procedures to measure the atomic-level details of proteins dynamics. The information in the signals will help explain how proteins such as the glycine receptor change and interact in their native environment. The glycine receptor, which Saxena studies in collaboration with Michael Cascio, assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, helps mediate signals to and from the brain, and has been resistant to conventional methods of study. Many diseases, including epilepsy and other seizure disorders, are associated with the glycine receptor.

"This research will lead to new technology that will enhance our ability to systematically measure and understand fundamental processes that control cellular functions," said Saxena.

Saxena earned the Ph.D. degree in chemistry at Cornell University and completed his postdoctoral training at California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. NSF's Early Career Development Award recognizes teacher-scholars most likely to become academic leaders in the 21st century.

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