Big Ideas

Professor of Pathology June Round, PhD, is among the newest members elected to the Benning Medical Society. This past summer, Round, along with Professor of Internal Medicine Stavros Drakos and Professor of Human Genetics Gabor Marth, joined the elite Society that recognizes the extraordinary achievements of researchers and clinicians at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine.

Founded in 2005 through a generous bequest by the Arthur E. Benning estate, the Society provides yearly support for members to pursue research. It also sponsors an annual public lecture that features leading-edge researchers, including Nobel-Prize-winners Elizabeth Blackburn, Mario Capecchi, Jennifer Doudna, Svante Pääbo, Venki Ramakrishnan, and Harold Varmus.

“We’ve had nearly 40 members since it was started, and they represent faculty who demonstrate excellence in research and represent our values of collaboration and community,” says Christopher Hill, vice dean for research, H.A. and Edna Benning Medical Society Chair.

Members have not only garnered top recognition, ranging from the Nobel Prize to a MacArthur grant, and placement in national and global academies, but their groundbreaking discoveries are advancing human health. Here are just a few.

HIV TREATMENT

Samuels Professor and co-chair of biochemistry Wesley I. Sundquist and Hill have spent decades studying the structure, function, and restriction of the HIV capsid. Their efforts laid the groundwork for lenacapavir, a capsid-inhibitor treatment distributed by Gilead. In December, the FDA approved the drug as a biannual treatment option for people living with multi-drug resistant HIV. As part of their research, Sundquist and Hill—along with fellow Benning Society Chair Michael S. Kay—are part of a U of U Health-led multi-institutional research center, the CHEETAH Center for Structural Biology of HIV Infection Restriction and Viral Dynamics. Sundquist serves as its director. In August, the Center was awarded a five-year, $28 million grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health to explore the inner workings and vulnerabilities of HIV.

GENE TARGETING

By exchanging genetic information generated in exogenously synthesized DNA sequence with an endogenous DNA sequence in the genome of living mice, Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics Mario Capecchi discovered how to modify any chosen gene in living mammals. This groundbreaking method has allowed scientists to better explore and understand the roles specific genes play in development, physiology, and pathology—and won him the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

VISUALIZING BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE

Louisa Stark, PhD, a prominent professor in human genetics, is revolutionizing pre-college science education. Her research integrates videos showcasing students engaging with and learning about the career paths of individuals employed in biomedical science, particularly when the interactions occur with individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. She aims to enhance students’ efficacy, belonging, and science­career interest utilizing video footage that resonates best with students. Recognized with awards like the Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education by the Genetics Society of America in 2015, Stark also serves as director of the Genetic Science Learning Center. 

EVOLUTION OF VIRUSES

By studying host-pathogen interactions, Professor of Genetics Nels Elde discovered molecular mechanisms that allow hosts and pathogens to adapt to the defenses and attacks they face from each other. His findings have led to a better understanding of everything from how some viruses rapidly evade host defenses by expanding or contracting genetic sequences, which he calls “gene accordions,” to how transposable elements propagate and improve immunity. In 2020, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, known as the “genius grant,” for his work to expand understanding of evolutionary genetics.

GENETICS OF SUICIDE RISK

Having assembled the world’s largest data collection of DNA samples from people who died by suicide, Professor of Psychiatry Hilary Coon and her team conducted genotyping and genomic sequencing that has linked suicide risk to genes previously associated with psychiatric conditions and immune system changes, a gene (neurexin 1) that helps regulate the transmission of nerve signals in the brain, and common polygenic risk associated with other psychological and behavioral traits. Coon anticipates finding many genes with complex associations but hopes that the findings will provide better ways to prevent suicide in the future.

DOUBLE-STRANDED RNA FUNCTION

Long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) was previously thought to be found in living cells only after a viral infection. Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry Brenda Bass and her team found that many animals, including humans, make their own dsRNA, and they have been working to understand how cells distinguish the good, cellular dsRNA, from the bad, viral dsRNA. Her discovery that certain Dicer enzymes can distinguish differences at the ends of viral and cellular dsRNA could open up new therapeutic treatments.