Christine S. Chow

Christine "Christy" Chow is a professor of chemistry (biochemistry division) and former associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University. She works on modified RNAs, RNA-ligand interactions and RNA therapeutics. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Christy Chow
Born
Christine S. Chow

New Jersey
Alma materBowdoin College (BS)
Columbia University (MS)
Caltech (PhD)
Known forRNA-ligand interactions
AwardsFellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Scientific career
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Wayne State University
ThesisTransition metal complexes as probes for higher-order structure in RNA (1992)
Doctoral advisorJacqueline Barton[1]
Websitechem.wayne.edu/faculty/chow

Early life and education

Chow was born New Jersey.[2] She studied environmental science at Bowdoin College and graduated in 1987.[3] She was a graduate student at Columbia University, earning a master's degree in 1988.[3] Chow earned her doctorate in inorganic chemistry with Jacqueline Barton at the California Institute of Technology in 1992.[1][3]

Research and career

Chow was a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she worked with Stephen J. Lippard.[3] In 1994 Chow joined Wayne State University.[4][5] Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health since she joined Wayne State University. Chow studies the structural and functional roles of modified nucleosides in RNA.[3] So far, several hundred modifications have been found in RNA and Transfer RNA, but their contributions to structure and function have yet to be fully established.[3] Chow develops the methodologies to incorporate modified nucleosides at specific points in RNA; in particular helix 69 of 23S ribosomal RNA.[3] The pseudouridine modification helps to maintain fidelity during protein synthesis, but its exact role in regulating the function of a ribosome is unknown.[6] They use inorganic complexes (such as platinum(II)) to examine the structure of nucleic acid.[3]

Chow has used fluorescence spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to study drug-RNA interactions in an effort to inform the design of new antibiotics.[3][7] Improved RNA binding ligands indicate that drugs have potential, and should be developed further.[3] She developed assays to investigate aminoglycoside analogues.[8] She is working on new anti-infectives that combat antimicrobial resistance.[3]

Academic service and advocacy

Chow is an advocate for undergraduate research opportunities and diversity in the scientific community. In 2006 one of Chow's students, Uzoma Azuh, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.[9] When he died in 2007, Chow created the Uzoma Azuh Endowed Memorial Research Scholarship, a fellowship for undergraduate students in chemistry and biochemistry, in his honour.[9] She is a faculty mentor for an National Institutes of Health grant, the Wayne State University "Initiative for Maximizing Student Development", which supports students from underrepresented minorities in their scientific careers.[10][11] In 2016, Wayne State University and Chow were awarded a multi-million dollar BEST (Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training) grant from National Institutes of Health to develop a doctoral training program for graduate students.[12] She is a member of the leadership team of the American Chemical Society Women's Chemistry Committee and the Division of Biological Chemistry.[13][14]

Awards and honours

References
  1. Chow, Christine S. (1992). Transition metal complexes as probes for higher-order structure in RNA. caltech.edu (PhD thesis). California Institute of Technology. OCLC 437064763.
  2. "Christine Chow". Michigan Science Center. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  3. "Christine S. Chow". chem.wayne.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  4. "FORWARD to Professorship Speakers". utoledo.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  5. "Current Members - Chow group, Chemistry - College of Liberal Arts and Sciences". clas.wayne.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  6. Chow, Christine. "The Role of Ribosomal RNA Modifications". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Wayne State University scientist named AAAS fellow". Today@Wayne. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  8. "Professor Christine S. Chow | RNA Society". Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  9. "Chow establishes scholarship in memory of former student" (PDF). Wayne State. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  10. "Wayne State University awarded $3 million from NIH to foster science and research careers". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  11. Hitchcock, Peter; Mathur, Ambika; Bennett, Jabbar; Cameron, Patricia; Chow, Christine; Clifford, Philip; Duvoisin, Robert; Feig, Andrew; Finneran, Kevin (2017). "The future of graduate and postdoctoral training in the biosciences". eLife. 6: e32715. doi:10.7554/eLife.32715. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 5648525. PMID 29049023.
  12. "Wayne State's NIH-funded BEST Program Achieving Successful Outcomes - MichBio". michbio.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  13. "Officers & Committees | ACS Division of Biological Chemistry Website". divbiolchem.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  14. "WCC Leadership | ACS Network". communities.acs.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  15. "2010 Bioorganic Chemistry Conference GRC". grc.org. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  16. "Dept of Chemistry at Wayne State University Mainpage | Immortality Medicine". Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  17. "ACS Awards and ACS Fellows – PMSE". Retrieved 2019-03-17.
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