2012 Gruber Neuroscience Prize
The pioneering discoveries by molecular neurobiologists Lily Jan, PhD, and Yuh Nung Jan, PhD, have laid the groundwork for many important advances in the understanding of the development and function of the nervous system. Their first major discovery, reported in 1982, was that a peptide called luteinizing-hormone-release hormone (LHRH) acts as a neurotransmitter. Dozens of other peptide neurotransmitters have since been identified, and their role in health and disease is now its own field of scientific inquiry. The Jans also discovered that potassium channel abnormalities were responsible for the abnormal limb movements of the “Shaker” strain of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). In 1987—in another landmark paper—they announced the successful cloning of the Shaker gene, an event that marked the first successful cloning of a gene for a potassium ion channel. Once again, an entire new field of research opened up. Dozens of human genes encoding various potassium ion channels have been cloned and studied for their associations with a variety of diseases. The Jans have also been leaders in the field of neural development. Their research has led to many important discoveries regarding how different types of neurons develop their specific form and structure during embryonic development.
2012 Neuroscience Prize Recipients
Laureate Profile
Lily Jan, PhD, and Yuh Nung Jan, PhD, have contributed to many areas of neuroscience. Their first major contribution was the discovery that molecules known as peptides can act as neurotransmitters (chemicals that transfer messages from one neuron to another). In 1982, they published a landmark paper in the Journal of Physiology that described how a peptide called luteinizing-hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) acts as a neurotransmitter in the sympathetic ganglia, which are clusters of nerve cells located in the network of nerves that carry messages from the brain throughout the body, by influencing not only those nerve cells near the release site for this peptide but also other nerve cells within the sympathetic ganglia. That paper opened up a major new field of study. Scientists have since discovered dozens of peptide neurotransmitters, whose properties and function are being actively studied for their role in health and disease.
The Jans have also been pioneering leaders in the study of potassium channels, which are pores on the membranes of nerve cells that serve as gatekeepers for charged atoms known as potassium ions as they flow in and out of the cells. They discovered that potassium channel abnormalities were responsible for the abnormal limb movements of a mutant strain of fruit flies known as “Shaker,” and, in 1987, reported (in another landmark paper) the cloning of the Shaker gene. This event—the first successful cloning of a gene for a potassium ion channel—opened up yet another new field of research. In the ensuing 25 years, dozens of human genes encoding various potassium ion channels have been cloned, and mutations in these genes have been linked to a variety of diseases, including heart rhythm problems, epilepsy, and hypertension. The Jans have continued to contribute to many important advances in this field.
In addition to their prolific work on potassium channels, the Jans have also been leaders in the field of neural development. Their research has led to many important discoveries regarding how different types of neurons develop their specific form and structure during embryonic development. They have helped explain, for example, how neurons use certain proteins to acquire their identity; how the division of a single neural progenitor cell can generate two dissimilar “daughter” cells, thus ensuring cellular diversity in the mature brain; and how neurons develop dendrites, the branched extension of a neuron that receive and integrate sensory inputs and signals from nearby neurons.
Citation
The Gruber Foundation proudly presents the 2012 Neuroscience Prize to Lily and Yuh Nung Jan for their fundamental contributions to our understanding of both voltage-gated ion channels and neural development.
Working together, the Jans discovered that potassium channels were responsible for a distinctive behavioral phenotype and they were subsequently successful in cloning and extensively characterizing core members of three different ion channel families. In parallel investigations, they also made seminal discoveries regarding the development of neurons and glia, including key features of cell fate specification, asymmetric cell division and dendritic maturation.
The remarkable and continuing advances by the Jans have provided key insights into the development and function of the nervous system, and have inspired and guided both trainees and other investigators to pursue two important areas of research.
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