McArdle News

Janet E. Mertz Named the Elizabeth McCoy Professor of Oncology (added 8/09)

Dr. Janet E. Mertz, Professor in the Department of Oncology, recently received a WARF Named Professorship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School.  This award is intended to honor UW faculty who have made “major contributions to the advancement of knowledge, primarily through their research endeavors, but also as a result of their teaching and service activities.”  Dr. Mertz’ numerous research accomplishments have included:  discovering mechanisms regulating transcription, RNA processing, and protein synthesis in mammalian cells; determining how gene expression is controlled in several viruses that contribute to some human cancers; and showing that estrogen-related receptor alpha likely plays roles in some hormone-independent breast cancers.  Recently, she documented that females with profound math ability exist, but are frequently inhibited by socio-cultural factors from developing their talents.  Dr. Mertz, a faculty member at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research since 1976, has served on numerous editorial boards and grant review panels and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  She has mentored numerous students and postdoctoral trainees and is an active participant in the virology community on the Madison campus.

Dr. Mertz chose to have her Professorship named in honor of Dr. Elizabeth McCoy.  Dr. McCoy received her Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin in 1929 under the mentorship of Dr. E.B. Fred.  After a year of postdoctoral studies in Europe, Dr. McCoy returned to UW-Madison as a faculty member in 1930, and eventually became the second woman outside of the Schools of Nursing and Home Economics to attain the rank of full Professor.  During her long scientific career until her retirement in 1973, Dr. McCoy studied essentially all areas of microbiology, from very basic to highly applied.  Her areas of research included: staphylococci and botulinum food poisoning; discovery, large-scale production, and the nature of resistance to antibiotics; bacteria involved in commercial fermentations; classification and characterization of viruses that infect bacteria; and the ecological roles of bacteria in fresh water lakes.  She co-taught in the first virology course offered on the Madison campus.  Dr. McCoy co-authored the definitive text on nitrogen fixation and was recognized throughout the world as a truly great microbiologist.  She was also granted numerous patents for her discoveries through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, including for a method to ferment molasses into the solvent butyl alcohol and for isolation of the antibiotic oligomycin.

James Shull named next Chair of Oncology (added 5/09)

Jing Zhang wins Shaw Award (added 5/09)

Professor Dove receives the 2009 Hilldale Award in the Biological Sciences for excellence in teaching, research and service (added 3/09) Read more...

Other McArdle faculty who have received this honor include Drs. Henry Pitot, Waclaw Szybalski, and Howard Temin.

Professor Burgess retires after 37 years at McArdle. A Symposium honoring Dr. Burgess was held in August 2009. Click here for pictures (added 2/09)

Burgess and Szybalski Named AAAS Fellows (added 12/08)

McArdle faculty members Richard Burgess and Waclaw Szybalski are among seven UW-Madison faculty members elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2008. Selection as an AAAS Fellow is a high honor conferred by peers in recognition of distinguished efforts to advance science and its applications. The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society. The society's mission is "to advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people."

Richard R. Burgess, UW-Madison professor of oncology, was selected for his contributions to the biochemistry of gene regulation and promoting technology transfer and the commercialization of research as the founding director of the UW-Madison Biotechnology Center.

Waclaw Szybalski, UW-Madison professor emeritus of oncology, was selected for multiple and diverse contributions to the field of molecular genetics and chemical mutagenesis and in particular for his formation of hypoxanthine-aminopterine-thymidine medium, a selection medium for mammalian cell culture.

The new Fellows will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on February 14, 2009 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Alex Shoemaker Awarded Abbott’s Outstanding Research Team Award (added 1/09)

Dr. Alexander R. Shoemaker recently received Abbott’s prestigious Outstanding Research Team Award “for achievements in the pursuit of scientific excellence”.  The Abbott Fund donated $5,000 to the McArdle Laboratory Endowment Fund in honor of Dr. Shoemaker’s Award.  Dr. Shoemaker received his Ph.D. in Genetics under the direction of Dr. William F. Dove at the McArdle Laboratory.  He carried out postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Diego prior to joining Abbott Laboratories in Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development.