Myra Judith Hostetter

Myra Judith Hostetter is an American biochemist renowned for her pioneering research into the mechanisms of protein folding and the cellular role of molecular chaperones. Her work has fundamentally advanced the understanding of how proteins achieve their functional three-dimensional structures and the consequences of misfolding in disease. Hostetter's career has been primarily associated with the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health and later with the University of California, San Francisco. Her contributions have been recognized with several of the highest honors in biomedical science.

Early life and education

Myra Judith Hostetter was born in the Midwestern United States and developed an early interest in the biological sciences. She pursued her undergraduate education at the University of Chicago, where she studied chemistry and biology. Following her graduation, Hostetter earned a Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry from Stanford University, conducting her doctoral research under the mentorship of a prominent figure in enzymology. Her thesis work investigated the kinetics of allosteric regulation in metabolic enzymes, laying a foundational expertise in protein structure and function.

Career

After completing her postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hostetter joined the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. She established an independent research group focused on the biophysics of protein aggregation. In the late 1990s, Hostetter moved to the University of California, San Francisco, accepting a position as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. At UCSF, she also became a key investigator within the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, collaborating extensively with researchers in structural biology and cell biology.

Research and contributions

Hostetter's most significant work elucidated the critical function of the Hsp70 family of chaperone proteins in assisting the folding of nascent polypeptide chains. Her laboratory employed innovative techniques in X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the three-dimensional structure of key chaperone complexes. This research provided a mechanistic model for how adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis drives conformational changes in Hsp70, enabling it to bind and release substrate proteins. Her team also made landmark discoveries linking chaperone dysfunction to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, identifying specific protein misfolding events. Further studies explored the role of co-chaperones like Hsp40 in regulating the chaperone cycle within cellular environments like the endoplasmic reticulum.

Awards and honors

For her transformative research, Myra Judith Hostetter has received numerous prestigious awards. She was a co-recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for discoveries concerning the cellular machinery that ensures proper protein folding. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hostetter has been honored with the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize. She has delivered named lectureships, including the Keith R. Porter Lecture and a plenary address at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Personal life

Myra Judith Hostetter is married to a fellow academic in the field of computational biology. She has been an advocate for women in science, participating in mentorship programs through the Association for Women in Science and serving on advisory committees for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Outside of her professional life, she is an avid supporter of the National Symphony Orchestra and enjoys hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Category:American biochemists Category:National Academy of Sciences members Category:University of California, San Francisco faculty Category:Living people