Mattos receives Presidential Award
Carla Mattos was cited for being at the forefront of research in molecular biology.
(Photo by Herman Lankford)
(Photo by Herman Lankford)
Dr. Carla Mattos, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, was among 57 government-supported scientists and engineers to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers during a ceremony Sept. 9 at the White House.
The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. The awards are intended to recognize and nurture scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership.
As a Presidential Early Career Award winner, Mattos was cited for being at the "forefront of research in structural biology, using a novel method of multiple solvent crystal structures to identify functional parts within proteins."
An understanding of the structure and operation of proteins is integral to understanding how life functions and malfunctions. Genes contain instructions for the formation of various proteins, and the proteins perform many of the tasks that allow an organism to function. By the same token, genetic defects can produce proteins that do not function correctly, leading to various diseases.
Much of Mattos' work involves the use of X-ray crystallography, a technology that allows scientists to see and study the structure of a molecule. The result is an image that can provide insights into how proteins function.
attos is particularly interested in a protein called Ras, which is thought to play an important role in the development of perhaps 30 percent of human cancers. Normally, the Ras protein is constantly activating and deactivating, switching a cell's reproductive machinery on and off. If a mutation occurs in the gene that produces the Ras protein, a defective protein may be produced. The protein's deactivation mechanism breaks down, and the cell multiplies uncontrollably, becoming cancerous.
Mattos was also cited for teaching, including mentoring of undergraduates and minority students and developing courses that incorporate research experiences.
Mattos joined the N.C. State faculty in 1999, after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and Brandeis University from 1993 to 1999. She received a doctorate in chemistry in 1993 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Early Career Award winners are chosen from among scientists and engineers nominated by various government agencies. Mattos was nominated by the National Science Foundation.
NSF nominees are drawn from junior faculty members who have received grants from NSF's Faculty Early Career Development program, considered the agency's most important and prestigious awards for new faculty members who show promise as leaders in science and engineering.
- Dave Caldwell
The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. The awards are intended to recognize and nurture scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership.
As a Presidential Early Career Award winner, Mattos was cited for being at the "forefront of research in structural biology, using a novel method of multiple solvent crystal structures to identify functional parts within proteins."
An understanding of the structure and operation of proteins is integral to understanding how life functions and malfunctions. Genes contain instructions for the formation of various proteins, and the proteins perform many of the tasks that allow an organism to function. By the same token, genetic defects can produce proteins that do not function correctly, leading to various diseases.
Much of Mattos' work involves the use of X-ray crystallography, a technology that allows scientists to see and study the structure of a molecule. The result is an image that can provide insights into how proteins function.
attos is particularly interested in a protein called Ras, which is thought to play an important role in the development of perhaps 30 percent of human cancers. Normally, the Ras protein is constantly activating and deactivating, switching a cell's reproductive machinery on and off. If a mutation occurs in the gene that produces the Ras protein, a defective protein may be produced. The protein's deactivation mechanism breaks down, and the cell multiplies uncontrollably, becoming cancerous.
Mattos was also cited for teaching, including mentoring of undergraduates and minority students and developing courses that incorporate research experiences.
Mattos joined the N.C. State faculty in 1999, after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and Brandeis University from 1993 to 1999. She received a doctorate in chemistry in 1993 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Early Career Award winners are chosen from among scientists and engineers nominated by various government agencies. Mattos was nominated by the National Science Foundation.
NSF nominees are drawn from junior faculty members who have received grants from NSF's Faculty Early Career Development program, considered the agency's most important and prestigious awards for new faculty members who show promise as leaders in science and engineering.
- Dave Caldwell