The Protein Society recently selected a paper published by the NDSU research group of Sangita Sinha, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, as one of the two "Best Paper" awards for 2017.
Each year, the not-for-profit scholarly society selects and recognizes two papers from all articles published in its journal. Sinha was the senior author, directing the research reported in the paper, titled "BECN2 interacts with ATG14 through a metastable coiled-coil to regulate autophagy."
NDSU alumna Minfei Su, the lead junior author, will accept the award at the Protein Society meeting in Boston this summer.
Other NDSU researchers who participated in the research are Christopher Colbert, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and graduate students Yue Li and Shane Wyborny.
The paper is the first to provide structural information on a BECN2 domain and delineates similarities and differences in the interaction of the BECN paralogs with ATG14, which is essential for autophagy. Autophagy is the natural process of the orderly destruction and recycling of cellular components.
"Such a comparative understanding of the structural and thermodynamic details of how BECN homologs self-assemble and recruit binding partners is critical to deciphering the molecular decisions that contribute to cellular homeostasis, and also to the evolution of BECN paralogs," Sinha said. "Minfei performed the majority of the research reported in the paper, and trained and mentored two students who then contributed to the research and are co-authors. I am fortunate to have had Minfei in my group, and am exceedingly pleased that such a deserving student will receive this honor."
"I am very appreciative of the guidance and support from Dr. Sinha over the years which helped me develop commitment towards pursuing a career in academia," said Su, who grew up in Jiangsu Province, China. She graduated from NDSU with her doctorate in biochemistry in 2016, and is now a postdoc at Weill Cornell Medical College.
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