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Nobel researcher visits students, MUSC family by Cindy Abole Public Relations It’s not every day that students get to learn from a Nobel Prize winner. But at MUSC, the biochemistry and molecular biology faculty, graduate students and members of the MUSC family were the real winners when they hosted Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor and Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher Philip A. Sharp, Ph.D.   Sharp, who accepted the students’ invitation to participate, was the featured speaker and guest during the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and College of Graduate Studies’ annual Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathobiology (MCBP) External Seminar Series on March 30.      Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Philip A. Sharp answers questions from graduate students during a mid-day luncheon. Sharp was this year's guest speaker for the March 30 MCBP Seminar Series. “We were very fortunate in having Dr. Sharp visit as he is not only an exceptional and outstanding scientist, but also very collegial and genuinely interested in the research of other scientists including students and faculty,” said Yusuf Hannun, M.D., Ralph F. Hirschmann professor and chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.   Working from a packed, daylong agenda, Sharp met with various MUSC faculty, graduate students and leaders from the Hollings Cancer Center, Neurosciences Institute and Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences Center at Fort Johnson.   At noon, he gathered with a dozen graduate students for lunch and a roundtable discussion, plus a question-and-answer session discussing their research progress and offering guidance and career advice.   “It was an enjoyable session,” said Travis Mcquiston, a second-year graduate student working in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Maurizio Del Poeta’s (Ph.D.) research lab. “His advice on hard work and persistence are goals that any of us can attain in our everyday work. The experience puts a face on Dr. Sharp, not only as a distinguished scientist and Nobel Prize winner, but as an individual.”      Fifth-year Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Sciences graduate student Mara Lennard also praised Sharp’s easiness and engaging presence. It was Lennard who initiated his visit as a guest speaker for the student-led MCBP seminar almost two years ago.   “Dr. Sharp has conducted a broad range of research, from transcription factors to his work with RNAi [interference], in cell biology,” Lennard said. “Having this incredible opportunity to speak with Dr. Sharp has reminded me of the possibilities science has to offer—how one observation can truly change the face of science and provide a stepping stone for the development of new cures and therapies.”   Later, Sharp addressed the MUSC family with a presentation titled, “The Surprising Biology of Small RNA,” at the Storm Eye Institute Auditorium.      As director of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Sharp is well-known for his work in biosciences and advances in the understanding of DNA and mechanics of genes. Sharp and colleague Richard J. Roberts won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1993 for their discovery of “split genes,” determining that some genes are not contiguous segments of the DNA molecule, but can reside in discontinuous, well-separated segments. Its consequences are significant in the understanding of gene expression and evolution.      Sharp also served as director of MIT’s Center for Cancer Research from 1985 to 1991. He also served for eight years as head of MIT’s Department of Biology.   Friday, April 21, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.