Shan honored for work uncovering mechanisms of signal recognition particle
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Shu-ou Shan of the California Institute of Technology the winner of the society’s Young Investigator Award for 2013.
![Shu-ou Shan Shu-ou Shan](http://www.asbmb.org/imagearchive/33174/b3813277-0d20-45fe-a1e2-328de50b28d7.jpg)
“It is a great honor to receive the ASBMB Young Investigator Award. I stand on the shoulders of many who came before me — great cell biologists like Peter Walter, who discovered this fundamental cellular pathway, and enzymologists like Daniel Herschlag, who defined rigorous conceptual frameworks for understanding biomolecular action. It is truly an honor to be mentored by these great scientists and hence have the opportunity to combine these disciplines.”
Shan has led extensive research concerning the specific protein-targeting mechanisms of the signal recognition particle, or SRP, the protein-RNA complex responsible for guiding polypeptide chains from the ribosome to the eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum or the bacterial plasma membrane during protein biosynthesis. Her quantitative dissection of the kinetics of this complex mechanism established that the overall fidelity of the targeting process — the ability to make sure the right polypeptide is delivered to the proper cellular location — is achieved through the cumulative effects of discrimination at multiple kinetic steps, rather than only at the initial step as had been believed widely.
Shan’s research is of clinical significance, as it offers a better understanding of diseases that result from a defective pathway of protein delivery to the endoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, it could aid in the development of new antibiotics that target bacterial SRP, thereby obtaining a bactericidal effect and an alternative for treating drug-resistant bacteria. Most fundamentally, it provides an elegant example of and roadmap for the dissection of complex biological processes, the need for which will continue to grow as we learn more about biological pathways and the control of and connections between these pathways.
Upon obtaining her Ph.D. at Stanford University in 2000, Shan joined the University of California, San Francisco, for postdoctoral research. It is there that she began her work on the SRP. She joined the California Institute of Technology in 2005.
Caltech colleague Douglas Rees describes Shan as “an exceptional scientist, dedicated mentor and a wonderful colleague.”
In his nomination of Shan for the award, Rees lauded Shan’s “ambitious and innovative research program and her uncanny ability to take a system from a cartoon level of understanding and placing it on a rigorous and quantitative mechanistic foundation.”
Rees continued: “Shu-ou’s impressive mentoring qualities clearly reflect the influence of her graduate adviser, Dr. Daniel Herschlag, who was recognized for his training of younger scientists by receiving the 2010 ASBMB William C. Rose Award.”
Shan got off to a quick start in graduate school, publishing three papers in her second year, all in prestigious journals, said Herschlag, now at the Stanford University Medical Center, who described Shan as “a very special and extremely creative scientist.”
“It has been remarkable to watch Shu-ou’s career develop as a postdoc with Peter Walter, where her understanding of biology grew immensely, and then as head of her own lab, where she has found and pursued important biological problems and have, in absolutely beautiful studies, applied rigorous kinetics and thermodynamics to reveal elegant mechanisms underlying the biology.”
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles
![Curiosity drives a science writing career](/getmedia/ebcbd6df-4d87-48a1-a0b6-e24d0259bbb3/freelance-thumb.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Curiosity drives a science writing career
Siobhan Sanford has worked at scientific journals, at pharma and consulting companies and as a freelancer.
![Uncertain Ph.D. path ends with a sprint to an industry job](/getmedia/68a5bbac-d8ea-4dfa-b139-0084723e7764/Research-spotlight-Dossou-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Uncertain Ph.D. path ends with a sprint to an industry job
Serena Dossou is an expert in tumor immunology, macrophage biology and nanoparticle technology — and a member of the ASBMB Membership Committee.
![Honors for Langer, Rossjohn and Rai](/getmedia/468fee59-6898-49ec-8479-d887291996ed/mem-update-0826-thumb.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Honors for Langer, Rossjohn and Rai
Awards, promotions, milestones and more. Find out what's going on in the lives of ASBMB members.
![In memoriam: George Alton Dunaway Jr.](/getmedia/e3512f11-cc75-4a92-b9bb-de8401c03369/Dunaway-thumb.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
In memoriam: George Alton Dunaway Jr.
He was an emeritus professor of pharmacology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and had been an ASBMB member for more than 40 years.
![Fighting the stigma of addiction with science](/getmedia/6f675a2b-02fa-427c-ad80-c26c4e5fea8b/MOSAIC-Girven-480x270.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
Fighting the stigma of addiction with science
MOSAIC scholar Kasey Girven’s mother wanted her to become a physician, but she realized she could also help her community with research.
![ASBMB names 2025 award winners](/getmedia/9f4362ff-a882-4c17-a231-a07ceee2c62b/2025-annual-award-winners-thumb-480-x-270-px.jpg?width=480&height=270&ext=.jpg)
ASBMB names 2025 award winners
Check out their lectures at the annual meeting in April in Chicago!