The laureates also worked on inventing chemical methods to study the role of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in these biological processes.
Last night the names of the winners of the Wolf Prize in Science and Art for 2022 were announced in the capacity of the President of the State and the Minister of Education. Among the topics that were the focus of this year's award: the development of rice varieties resistant to diseases and floods that threaten the rice crops in Asia and Africa; the investigation of art, science and social commitment to the advancement of modern architecture; Development of breakthrough technologies for understanding intercellular communication; Pioneering researchers in the science of ultrafast lasers and the physics of attoseconds. These are just some of the people and revelations announced this morning as the winners of the Wolf Prize for 2022, for their unique contribution to humanity and to friendly relations between peoples, without differences of religion, gender, race, geographic location or political position.
The five prizes, totaling 100 thousand dollars in each field, will be distributed this year to eleven winners from five countries: USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Japan.
The 2022 Wolf Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Professors: Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University; Caroline Bertuzzi, Stanford University; Benjamin Cravat, The Scripps Institute- For their seminal contribution to the understanding of the chemistry of intercellular communication and for the invention of chemical methods for studying the role of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in these biological processes.
Bonnie Basler, Princeton University
Bassler, Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton, and a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of the National Academies
American Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Until two decades ago, it was assumed that bacteria were primitive creatures, but recent studies have proven otherwise. Basler, graduate
First in biochemistry, she was disappointed when she was assigned to a research project on bacterial enzymes. Like many others, she assumed that bacteria were
The simplest organisms, but she soon discovered that they are extremely sophisticated creatures, capable of communicating and are even multilingual. After completing her doctorate at Johns Hopkins University, she joined the Aguron Institute, La Jolla, and focused her research on what is now called quorum sensing - quorum sensing, the process in which bacteria communicate with each other by chemical means.
Quorum sensing involves the production, release and recognition of chemical signal molecules, a process that allows regulation of gene expression and bacterial behavior
in large colonies. Quorum sensing is common in the world of bacteria, so understanding this process is fundamental to clinical and industrial microbiology and to understanding the development of more developed organisms.
Bassler's research provides insights into communication within and between species, cooperation at the level of bacterial populations, as well as the principles underlying signal transmission and information processing at the cellular level. These insights led to the development of strategies to control quorum sensing.
Medical treatments that interfere with quorum sensing may provide ways to combat drug-resistant bacteria. For example, disrupting bacterial communication in populations of "bad" bacteria, or encouraging communication between "good" bacteria. Her work has far-reaching implications for the development of new antimicrobial drugs and the next generation of antibiotic preparations.
Bonnie Basler receives the Wolf Prize for her work clarifying the role of chemical communication between bacteria, and for discoveries
Regarding how quorum sensing is used by bacteria both for offensive activity and for communication between different species.
Caroline Bertuzzi, Stanford University
Bertuzzi, from Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is known for developing innovative technologies and breakthrough discoveries in chemical biology and drug development.
From a young age Bartuzzi was drawn to science. Her father, who taught physics at MIT, encouraged her to be interested in technological tools that were related to his research. Her enthusiasm for science motivated her to continue her studies and become a leading researcher in the field of chemistry and biotechnology.
Bertuzzi received her BA in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1988 and her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Berkeley
in California in 1993. After completing postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco, in the field of cellular immunology, she joined the University of Berkeley in 1996. In 2015, she moved to Stanford University at the same time as the launch of the ChEM-H Institute at Stanford.
The cell membrane plays an important role in protecting the cell from its environment, therefore, its structure and function have been extensively studied. Critical intracellular processes, such as signal transduction and immune defense, are mediated by cell surface glycosylation. Thus, the cell wall consists of large biomolecules, such as glycoproteins and glycosphingolipids.
Bertuzzi's research focuses on profiling changes in cell surface glycosylation. Bertuzzi founded the field of bio-orthogonal chemistry, which allows researchers to make chemical changes within living systems without disturbing local biochemical processes. Using bioorthogonal chemistry, she broke new ground in understanding the glycocalyx, which is the part of the cell wall that has been massively glycosylated, and mediates intercellular communication.
Her pioneering work led to new research in the field of biological imaging and the development of drugs related to cancer, inflammation, infection
Bacterial, tuberculosis, and recently COVID-19. These new treatments include the use of antibody-enzyme conjugates that can remodel the
the glycocalyx and lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) which lead to the degradation of membrane-bound proteins. These studies of hers revealed the role of sugars in biology and immuno-oncology. Bertuzzi has widely commercialized these innovative technologies, for both clinical and research applications.
No less significant are Bertuzzi's contributions to mentoring and training and diversity in the fields of chemistry and chemical biology. This commitment of hers, focuses on her passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion based on STEM
The Wolf Prize is awarded to Caroline Bertuzzi for her pioneering work in bioorthogonal chemistry and understanding the roles of
The glycocalyx in human health, disease prevention, bioimaging, chemoproteomics and drug development.
Benjamin Cravat, The Scripps Institute
Kravat, holder of the Gilola Chair in Chemical Biology and professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute. His research led to the understanding of the roles of proteins in the physiological and pathological processes of man. He used these insights to develop new therapeutic approaches and drugs.
Kravat was inspired to pursue science by his parents as well as his high school math teachers. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology and history
at Stanford University. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1996 at the Scripps Research Institute and received an academic appointment at the same institution in 1997.
Using chemical and biological methods, Kravat and his research group developed and applied technologies to discover biochemical pathways
In Biology and Diseases of Mammals. He is the pioneer of the approach to identify groups of proteins based on their activity. His multidisciplinary approach led to the production of tools and models required to associate molecular, cellular and physiological functions to enzymes, and as a result, to evaluate their suitability as therapeutic targets. His research is a unique combination of rapid development and application of innovative technologies to advance basic and translational science.
Kravat's work on the endocannabinoid system led to a revolutionary development of the field of proteomics, and the application of tools
Chemicals for studying functions of proteins in their local biological environment. The proteomic technology of characterizing proteins based on their activity Activity-Based Protein Profiling: (ABPP), uses chemical detectors to directly measure the enzyme function. For example, fluorescent labeling can be used to label enzymes with certain chemical properties, which allows scientists to review all active enzymes in a cell at once, and to determine the fate of drugs directly in living systems.
Kravat used this method and other chemical proteomic technologies to perform broad analyzes of protein activity and to understand the functions of several enzymes, including those associated with cancer, neurological disorders, and the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in appetite regulation, pain and mood mechanisms, memory, and other physiological processes.
Benjamin Kravat is awarded the Wolf Prize for developing methods for characterizing proteins based on their activity, chemical proteomics for characterizing the functions of enzymes in biological systems, and understanding enzymatic processes in human biology and disease states, including enzymes whose activity products regulate intercellular communication.
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