WISMAC guest lecturer champions ‘exciting time’ for scientists

By Lin Lofley

Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi recently spent two days at UT Southwestern Medical Center as the 2015 Ida M. Green Distinguished Visiting Professor Honoring Women in Science and Medicine. During this time, the Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neurology and Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine met informally with faculty members and various trainee groups and presented the annual Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee (WISMAC) lecture.

Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi (center), the 2015 Ida M. Green Distinguished Visiting Professor Honoring Women in Science and Medicine, is joined by WISMAC members Dr. Carole Mendelson (left) and Dr. Jane Johnson
Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi (center), the 2015 Ida M. Green Distinguished Visiting Professor Honoring Women in Science and Medicine, is joined by WISMAC members Dr. Carole Mendelson (left) and Dr. Jane Johnson.

In a Feb. 4 discussion of her research – Rett Syndrome and MeCP2 Disorders: From the Clinic to Genes and Neurobiology – before a near-capacity audience, Dr. Zoghbi also found time to speak to the challenges and rewards of her work.

“A student asked me if I had faced hurdles and challenges over the years,” she said. “I told her that I consider doing this research over a period of 16 years a little bit of a challenge.”

Dr. Zoghbi, along with Dr. Harry Orr, achieved a major scientific discovery in identifying the gene responsible for spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Drs. Zoghbi and Orr showed in their research that SCA1 is caused by a pathological expansion of a repeated three-nucleotide sequence. This expansion is similar to that seen in other disease genes, such as those responsible for Huntington’s disease.

Dr. Zoghbi was also the first to describe the genetic cause of Rett Syndrome, the autism-associated, X-linked neurological disease that leads to a loss of motor skills, speech, and other cognitive abilities in girls under the age of 2 years.

While acknowledging the challenges of her research, Dr. Zoghbi made the point that “it’s really an exciting time to be doing science.”

The speaker was introduced by WISMAC member Dr. Jane Johnson, Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, who noted that Dr. Zoghbi had, over a period of two days, shared her research and career experiences with faculty, staff, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, as well as graduate students, medical students, and students in the Medical Scientist Training Program.

The goal of WISMAC is to enhance the career development of women on this campus, which will improve UT Southwestern for everyone, Dr. Johnson said. Each year WISMAC hosts an outstanding female scientist/physician for the two-day professorship, which promotes the accomplishments of distinguished women in science and medicine and provides inspiration to faculty and trainees. 

Southwestern Medical Foundation sponsors the distinguished visiting professorship, established in honor of Ida Green, the wife of Texas Instruments co-founder Cecil H. Green, both now deceased. Mrs. Green was a great supporter of opening career paths for women in science and medicine and provided a major bequest to the Foundation.

Dr. Johnson holds the Shirley and William S. McIntyre Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience.