The ‘elegance of the cell’s endocytic machinery’ will be explored in President’s Lecture Series

By Deborah Wormser

Dr. Sandra Schmid, Chair of Cell Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is known by her colleagues as a transformative thinker during a time of unprecedented change – both within her field of specialty and in the world of science. Dr. Schmid will discuss her dynamic area of study in a lecture titled “Coats, Collars, and Accessories: The Elegance of the Cell's Endocytic Machinery,” as part of the President’s Lecture Series. Dr. Schmid’s presentation will be at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium.

Dr. Sandra Schmid
Dr. Sandra Schmid

An internationally recognized researcher on endocytosis – the fundamental process by which cells internalize nutrients and other molecules – Dr. Schmid received the 2014 American Society for Cell Biology/Women in Cell Biology (WICB) Senior Leadership Award, which is given to a scientist (male or female) who has had a profound impact on cell biology. Her selection carried the additional honor that she was the first recipient of both the junior and senior leadership awards.

“Everyone doing science right now, and for the past 50 years, has had to make some disruptive changes in order to be sustainable, both because of the current financial environment and also to fully take advantage of the opportunities that the revolutions in technology and genomics have provided us,” she explained.

Any list of the top advances in endocytosis in the past 25 years would include several made by Dr. Schmid. She uses sophisticated techniques to visualize membrane trafficking and to analyze the structure and function of this cellular machinery. She also is known for strong, interdisciplinary collaborations with world-renowned scientists throughout the U.S. and Europe.

“Collaborative research is often the most rewarding and most effective means of answering important questions,” she said.

As an academic medical center, UT Southwestern is uniquely positioned to conduct such research, Dr. Schmid said. “The clinical people are critical. As we pursue basic research in Cell Biology, our clinical colleagues can really help us focus on the questions most important to human disease,” she added.

Prior to coming to UT Southwestern, Dr. Schmid was at Scripps Research Institute in California for 23 years, which included serving as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology for 12 years. While on the West Coast, she earned a master’s degree in executive leadership from the University of San Diego School of Business Administration. She said that experience gave her the skills to articulate and execute her vision, as well as the validation to know that she should.

One aspect of her vision has drawn international attention. When assessing junior faculty candidates, emphasis is placed on a one-page description candidates write about how they approach science – practically speaking – and how they think. She predicts it will take 10 years to determine if going through this exercise t makes a difference in our ability to identify and recruit the very best next-generation scientists.

“I hope that I’m bringing fresh ideas to an amazingly successful institution and, certainly, I’ve had nothing but support from my colleagues at UT Southwestern in consideration of those ideas,” said Dr. Schmid.

Dr. Schmid is a past President of the American Society for Cell Biology and last year was one of only six new foreign associate members elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization. In addition, she has served on several scientific advisory boards, including one at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

A native of Canada who now holds dual citizenship, she earned her undergraduate degree (cell biology, high honours) from the University of British Columbia, and a doctorate in biochemistry from Stanford University. Dr. Schmid then completed a fellowship in cell biology at Yale University.

She puts considerable effort into service, mentorship, and leadership activities at the institutional and national level, and sees these as important and lasting contributions. However, science remains Dr. Schmid’s first passion and primary commitment. “At the end of the day, I will be known for what my lab and I are doing in science, and I’m pleased that my move to UT Southwestern has enabled our research to move in new and exciting directions,” she said.

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Dr. Schmid holds the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair in Cellular and Molecular Biology.