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Thomas Michel, MD, PhD |
Thomas Michel, MD, PhD, senior physician in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, received the 2019 Discovery Award from the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine in recognition of the work his lab produced using the new science of “chemogenetics” to develop a new animal model of heart failure by generating oxidative stress in the heart. This biannual Discovery Award recognizes seminal or high-impact research in redox biology (the study of the effects of oxygen on biological systems) that has been completed within the past five years.
Oxidative stress — the molecular wear and tear that reactive oxygen species can exert on molecules and cells — has been linked to a range of human diseases, including heart failure and Alzheimer's disease. For years, researchers have tried to tease out the nuances of the connections between oxidative stress and disease, but they typically involve multiple pathways in the body, and it has been challenging to define the specific roles of oxidative stress in disease progression at a molecular level.
Michel — who shares the Discovery Award with his friend and collaborator Vsevolod Belousov, DSc, of the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow — was honored for developing a robust new method for generating and quantitating oxidative stress in the hearts of rodents in vivo to better understand the development and treatment of heart failure. The novel methodology uses a cutting-edge approach known as chemogenetics, which allows researchers to activate or inactivate a recombinant protein in cells or tissues simply by providing or withdrawing the specific molecules that bind to the protein.
Michel and Belousov were honored during the society’s 26th Annual Conference in Las Vegas in October, where they delivered a featured lecture and performed a lighthearted but scientifically accurate song (with Michel playing the accordion) describing their collaborative research, titled “The Chemogenetics Tango."
The Society for Redox Biology and Medicine was established in 1987 in response to a growing recognition of the broad roles of oxygen in the life sciences.