Erec Stebbins Explained

Charles Erec Stebbins
Birth Date:	5 December 1969
Birth Place:	Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Field:	Structural biology, microbiology
Work Institution:	The Rockefeller University, German Cancer Research Center
Alma Mater:	Oberlin College
Doctoral Advisor:	Nikola Pavletich
Occupation:	research scientist, novelist

Erec Stebbins (born 1969) is an American biomedical scientist and novelist. Head of Rockefeller University's Laboratory of Structural Microbiology from 2001 to 2016 and currently Head of Division of Structural Biology of Infection and Immunity at the German Cancer Research Center, he is known for his contributions to the fields of cancer research and infectious disease,^[1] studying the structure of disease-related proteins through the technique of X-ray crystallography.^[2] He is a published academic writer and has been cited by his peers for his work in cancer research and infectious disease. He is also a novelist and author of science fiction (Daughter of Time Trilogy)^{[3] [4]} and thrillers (The Ragnarök Conspiracy, Extraordinary Retribution).^{[5] [6]}

Biography

Stebbins was born Charles Erec Stebbins on December 5, 1969. He received his B.A. from Oberlin College in 1992 and his Ph.D. from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in 1999. His Ph.D. thesis was titled Structural Studies of the von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor and the Oncogene Chaperone Hsp90, completed in the laboratory of Nikola Pavletich. He conducted postdoctoral studies in microbiology in the laboratory of Jorge Galán at Yale University from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, he was hired as an assistant professor and made the Head of Laboratory of Structural Microbiology at the Rockefeller University. In 2006, he was promoted to Associate Professor. He is currently Head of the Division of Structural Biology of Infection and Immunity at the German Cancer Research Center. His work has been profiled in the lay press at The New York Times.^[1]

In 2012, with the Prometheus Books imprint Seventh Street Books, Stebbins published The Ragnarök Conspiracy, a contemporary thriller centered on a plot by terrorists to instigate a global war between Western and Islamic nations. Stebbins has said that his debut novel was inspired by his witnessing the September 11 attacks while he lived in New York City.^[5]

Select publications

• Stebbins CE, Borukhov S, Orlova M, Polyakov A, Goldfarb A, Darst SA . Crystal structure of the GreA transcript cleavage factor from Escherichia coli . Nature . 373 . 6515 . 636–640 . 1995 . 7854424 . 10.1038/373636a0. 1995Natur.373..636S . 4327539 .
• Stebbins CE, Russo AA, Schneider C, Rosen N, Hartl FU, Pavletich NP . Crystal structure of an Hsp90-geldanamycin complex: targeting of a protein chaperone by an antitumor agent . Cell . 89 . 2 . 239–250 . 9108479 . 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80203-2 . April 1997. 5253110 . free .
• Stebbins CE, ((Kaelin WG Jr)), Pavletich NP . Structure of the VHL-ElonginC-ElonginB complex: implications for von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor function . Science . 284 . 5413 . 455–461 . 1999 . 10205047 . 10.1126/science.284.5413.455.
• Stebbins CE, Galán JE . Structural Mimicry in Bacterial Virulence . Nature . 412 . 6848 . 701–705 . 2001 . 11507631 . 10.1038/35089000. 2001Natur.412..701S . 4418873 .
• Stebbins CE, Galán JE . Maintenance of an unfolded polypeptide by a cognate chaperone in bacterial type III secretion . Nature . 414 . 6859 . 77–81 . 2001 . 11689946 . 10.1038/35102073. 2001Natur.414...77S . 20213272 .
• Lilic M, Galkin VE, Orlova A, VanLoock MS, Egelman EH, Stebbins CE . Salmonella SipA Polymerizes Actin by Stapling Filaments with non-Globular Protein Arms . Science . 301 . 5641 . 1918–1921 . 2003 . 14512630 . 10.1126/science.1088433. 2003Sci...301.1918L . 24011057 .
• Nesić D, Hsu Y, Stebbins CE . Assembly and function of a bacterial genotoxin . Nature . 429. 6990 . 429–433 . 2004 . 15164065 . 10.1038/nature02532. 2004Natur.429..429N . 4373500 .
• Janjusevic R, Abramovitch RB, Martin GB, Stebbins CE . A Bacterial Inhibitor of Host Programmed Cell Death Defenses is an E3 Ubiquitin Ligase . Science . 311 . 5758 . 222–226 . 2006 . 16373536 . 10.1126/science.1120131. 2006Sci...311..222J . 31167235 .
• Prehna G, Ivanov MI, Bliska JB, Stebbins CE . Yersinia virulence depends on mimicry of host rho-family nucleotide dissociation inhibitors . Cell . 126 . 5 . 869–880 . 2006 . 16959567 . 10.1016/j.cell.2006.06.056. 2670805 . free .
• Quezada CM, Hicks SW, Galán JE, Stebbins CE . A family of Salmonella virulence factors functions as a distinct class of autoregulated E3 ubiquitin ligases . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 106 . 12 . 4864–4869 . 2009 . 19273841 . 10.1073/pnas.0811058106 . 2653562. 2009PNAS..106.4864Q . free .
• Nesić D, Miller MC, Quinkert ZT, Stein M, Chait BT, Stebbins CE . Helicobacter pylori CagA Inhibits PAR1/MARK Family Kinases by Mimicking Host Substrates . Nat Struct Mol Biol . 17 . 1 . 130–132 . 2010 . 19966800 . 10.1038/nsmb.1705 . 3006182.
• Nesić D, Buti L, Lu X, Stebbins CE . Structure of the Helicobacter pylori CagA Oncogene Bound to the Human Tumor Suppressor Apoptosis-stimulating Protein of p53-2 (ASPP2) . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 111 . 4 . 1562–1567 . 2014 . 24474782 . 10.1073/pnas.1320631111 . 3910616. free .

Awards

• 2008 EUREKA^[7]
• 2004 ICAAC Young Investigator Award^[8]
• 2003 NYSTAR James Watson Investigator^[9]
• 2000 Molecular Structure Corporation Future Investigator Award^[10]
• 1999 Julian R. Rachele Prize, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University

Personal life

Stebbins is married and has three children. He resides in Heidelberg.

External links

• Author Website
• German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ): Stebbins Web Page

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dreifus . Claudia . Using X-Ray Vision, He Keeps His Eye on the Bacteria. The New York Times. 31 August 2004. 12 October 2012.
2. Web site: Geniuses At Work: New York City's Rockefeller University is the Nation's Braintrust. New York Daily News . 5 April 2009 . 12 October 2012.
3. Web site: Reader: Daughter of Time: Book I. . 26 August 2013 . 24 December 2015.
4. Web site: PW Select June 2014: The Reviews . . June 2014 . 24 December 2015.
5. Web site: Stewart . Michael F. . The Ragnarok Conspiracy by Erec Stebbins. Debut Author . 12 October 2012.
6. Web site: Donovan . Diane . Extraordinary Retribution. . November 2013 . 22 December 2015.
7. Web site: C. Erec Stebbins Awarded Prestigious Eureka Grant. Science News via Rockefeller University. 3 September 2008. 12 October 2012.
8. Web site: ICAAC Young Investigator Awards . American Society For Microbiology . October 2008 . 12 October 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407060905/http://forms.asm.org/microbe/index.asp?bid=30723 . 7 April 2014 .
9. Web site: Stony Brook Researcher Only One of 10 to Receive $200,000 Grant For Biotech Research. Stony Brook University. 12 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120903212528/http://commcgi.cc.stonybrook.edu/am2/publish/Engineering_Science_9/Stony_Brook_Researcher_Only_One_of_10_to_Receive_2_309_printer.shtml. 3 September 2012. dead.
10. Web site: 2000 Future Investigator Award Winners Announced. International Union of Crystallography. 12 October 2012.