Sarah L. Keller Explained

Sarah L. Keller
Nationality:American
Field:Biophysics
Work Institutions:University of Washington
Alma Mater:Rice University, Princeton University
Doctoral Advisor:Sol M. Gruner
Awards:Thomas E. Thompson Award (2014); Avanti Award in Lipids (Biophysical Society, 2017)

Sarah L. Keller is an American biophysicist, studying problems at the intersection between biology and chemistry. She investigates self-assembling soft matter systems.[1] [2] [3] Her current main research focus is understanding how simple lipid mixtures within bilayer membranes give rise to membrane's complex phase behavior.[4] [5] [6]

Keller is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) (2011)[7] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2013) and has won multiple awards including the Thomas E. Thompson Award (2014)[8] and the Avanti Award in Lipids (Biophysical Society, 2017).[9] She is a professor of chemistry and adjunct professor of physics at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.[10]

Early life and education

Keller studied her undergraduate degree at Rice University and gained her Ph.D. degree in physics at Princeton University in 1995. Her graduate study was on the "interaction between Ion-channels and Lipid Membranes", supervised by Dr. Sol M. Gruner. She was a postdoctoral researcher at University of California Santa Barbara and Stanford University before becoming professor at University of Washington.[10]

Major publications

Keller studies the organization of lipids in membranes.[11] [12] Cell membranes are composed of lipids and proteins. Her early work "Separation of liquid phases in giant vesicles of ternary mixtures of phospholipids and cholesterol",[13] one of the most cited papers in the Biophysical Journal,[14] used fluorescence microscopy to observe a mixture of saturated and unsaturated lipids and observed microscopic separations of two coexisting liquid phases—miscibility transition. Her works contributed to models of protein aggregation within membranes and the theory of membrane lateral pressure.[15]

Her recent work "Hallmarks of Reversible Separation of Living, Unperturbed Cell Membranes into Two Liquid Phases" found reversible phase separations over multiple warming and cooling cycles in yeast vacuoles, taking a step further towards conditions in living cells.[16] Keller's follow-up work detailed that this transition is regulated by yeast and corresponds to their growth temperatures.[17] [18] [19]

Because early life has the simple form of RNA encapsulated by fatty acid, Keller's work could also explore mysteries about the origin of life.[20]

Awards and honors

Keller was awarded the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006[34] and the department of chemistry Outstanding Teaching Award in 2004.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Keller. Sarah L.. McConnell. Harden M.. 1999-02-15. Stripe Phases in Lipid Monolayers near a Miscibility Critical Point. Physical Review Letters. 82. 7. 1602–1605. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.1602. 0031-9007. 1999PhRvL..82.1602K.
  2. Adams. Marie. Dogic. Zvonimir. Keller. Sarah L.. Fraden. Seth. May 1998. Entropically driven microphase transitions in mixtures of colloidal rods and spheres. Nature. 393. 6683. 349–352. 10.1038/30700. 0028-0836. 1998Natur.393..349A. 1676273.
  3. Web site: Keller Research Group: University of Washington. faculty.washington.edu. 2019-03-08.
  4. Veatch. Sarah L.. Keller. Sarah L.. 2002-12-09. Organization in Lipid Membranes Containing Cholesterol. Physical Review Letters. 89. 26. 268101. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.268101. 12484857. 0031-9007. 2002PhRvL..89z8101V.
  5. Stanich. Cynthia A.. Honerkamp-Smith. Aurelia R.. Putzel. Gregory Garbès. Warth. Christopher S.. Lamprecht. Andrea K.. Mandal. Pritam. Mann. Elizabeth. Hua. Thien-An D.. Keller. Sarah L.. July 2013. Coarsening Dynamics of Domains in Lipid Membranes. Biophysical Journal. 105. 2. 444–454. 10.1016/j.bpj.2013.06.013. 3714885. 23870265. 2013BpJ...105..444S.
  6. Cornell. Caitlin E.. Skinkle. Allison D.. He. Shushan. Levental. Ilya. Levental. Kandice R.. Keller. Sarah L.. August 2018. Tuning Length Scales of Small Domains in Cell-Derived Membranes and Synthetic Model Membranes. Biophysical Journal. 115. 4. 690–701. 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.06.027. 6103737. 30049406. 2018BpJ...115..690C.
  7. Web site: APS Fellow Archive. www.aps.org. 2019-03-04.
  8. Web site: Felix M. . Goñi. Marjorie . Longo . Subgroups MSAS . June . 2014 . 12 . Biophysical Newsletter . 16 August 2020.
  9. Web site: Avanti Awards in Lipids. Avanti Polar Lipids. 2019-03-04.
  10. Web site: Sarah L. Keller - UW Dept. of Chemistry. depts.washington.edu. 2019-03-04.
  11. Miller. Johanna L.. February 2018. Membrane phase demixing seen in living cells. Physics Today. 71. 2. 21–23. 10.1063/PT.3.3838. 0031-9228. 2018PhT....71b..21M.
  12. 2017. Demixing in cell membranes. Physics Today. 10.1063/PT.6.1.20171221a.
  13. Keller. Sarah L.. Veatch. Sarah L.. 2003-11-01. Separation of Liquid Phases in Giant Vesicles of Ternary Mixtures of Phospholipids and Cholesterol. Biophysical Journal. English. 85. 5. 3074–3083. 10.1016/S0006-3495(03)74726-2. 0006-3495. 1303584. 14581208. 2003BpJ....85.3074V.
  14. Web site: A 17-Year-Old BJ Article Explored the Ground Rules of Phase Separation in Lipid Bilayer. March 23, 2020. Gohlke. Andrea. Biophysical Society. 2024-07-13.
  15. Web site: Keller Garners Avanti Young Investigator Award. www.asbmb.org. 2019-03-04.
  16. Rayermann. Scott P.. Rayermann. Glennis E.. Cornell. Caitlin E.. Merz. Alexey J.. Keller. Sarah L.. December 2017. Hallmarks of Reversible Separation of Living, Unperturbed Cell Membranes into Two Liquid Phases. Biophysical Journal. 113. 11. 2425–2432. 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.09.029. 5768487. 29211996. 2017BpJ...113.2425R.
  17. Yeast cells actively tune their membranes to phase separate at temperatures that scale with growth temperatures. Leveille. Chantelle L.. Cornell. Caitlin E.. Merz. Alexey J.. Keller. Sarah L.. January 19, 2022. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119. 4. e2116007119. 10.1073/pnas.2116007119. 8795566.
  18. Web site: Hungry yeast are tiny, living thermometers. Urton. James. UW News. January 25, 2022. 2024-07-13.
  19. Web site: What Makes Membranes of Yeast Vacuoles Phase Separate?. BPS Blog. Keller. Sarah L.. March 21, 2023. 2024-07-13.
  20. News: Yong . Ed . A New Clue to How Life Originated . 16 August 2020 . The Atlantic . August 12, 2019.
  21. Web site: Society Names 2021 Fellows. Biophysical Society . November 4, 2020.
  22. Web site: 2022-2023 Convocation Series. 2024-07-13.
  23. Web site: Cottrell Scholars - STAR Awards. Research Corporation. 2024-07-13.
  24. Web site: Biophysical Society Names 2017 Award Recipients . Biophysical Society. August 2, 2016 . 16 August 2020.
  25. Web site: Somorjai Award - Miller Institute Announces the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Visting Miller Professorship Award. 2024-07-13.
  26. Web site: AAAS Members Elected as Fellows . American Association for the Advancement of Science . 16 August 2020.
  27. Web site: 2023-2024 Membership Directory. Washington State Academy of Sciences. 2024-07-13.
  28. Web site: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology . University of Washington professor garners Avanti Young Investigator Award . EurekaAlert . American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) . 16 August 2020. 10 December 2009.
  29. News: ASBMB LIPID RESEARCH DIVISION . 2010. June . ASBMB Today. 32 . Exploring Membranes: The Work of Sarah L. Keller. 2020-08-16.
  30. Web site: Avanti Awards in Lipids . Avanti . 16 August 2020. 2010.
  31. Web site: Society Awards. Biophysical Society. 2024-07-13.
  32. Web site: Cottrell Scholars Dashboard. Research Corporation. 2024-07-13.
  33. Web site: CAREER: Lateral Phase Separation of Rafts and Liquid Domains in Lipid Systems. National Science Foundation. 2024-07-13.
  34. Web site: Previous award recipients Center for Teaching and Learning. 2019-03-04.

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