Anita Roberts
{{short description|American biologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Anita B. Roberts
| image = Roberts, anita.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|04|03}}
| birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|05|26|1942|04|03}}
| death_place = Bethesda, Maryland
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| fields = {{plainlist |
}}
| workplaces = {{plainlist |
}}
| alma_mater = {{plainlist |
- Oberlin College {{small|(1964)}}
- University of Wisconsin-Madison {{small|(Ph.D., 1968)}}
}}
| known_for = TGF-β
}}
Anita Bauer Roberts (April 3, 1942 – May 26, 2006) was an American molecular biologist who made pioneering observations of a protein, TGF-β, that is critical in healing wounds and bone fractures and that has a dual role in blocking or stimulating cancers.{{cite journal |last1=Oransky |first1=Ivan |title=Anita B Roberts |journal=The Lancet |date=July 2006 |volume=368 |issue=9529 |pages=22 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68952-6 |s2cid=54304304 |doi-access=free }}
She is ranked as one of the top fifty most cited biological scientists in the world.
Formative years
Roberts was born on April 3, 1942, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she grew up. In 1964, she graduated with her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Oberlin College.{{Cite news|url =http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jun/22/20060622-112000-7386r/?page=all|title =Anita B. Roberts, 64, cancer researcher|work =The Washington Times|url-status =live|archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20150403055125/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jun/22/20060622-112000-7386r/?page=all|archivedate =2015-04-03}} She earned her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1968, working on retinoid metabolism under Hector DeLuca.{{cite journal |last1=Mishra |first1=L |last2=Marshall |first2=J |last3=Sporn |first3=M |title=Obituary |journal=Oncogene |date=21 September 2006 |volume=25 |issue=42 |pages=5707 |doi=10.1038/sj.onc.1209900 |doi-access=free }}
She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, a staff chemist at Aerospace Research Applications Center, and an instructor in chemistry at Indiana University Bloomington.
Career
In 1976, Roberts joined the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. From 1995 to 2004, she served as Chief of the institute's Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis, and continued her research there until her death in 2006.
During the early 1980s, Roberts and her colleagues began to experiment with the protein transforming growth factor beta, commonly referred to as TGF-β.{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/us/02roberts.html|title = Anita Roberts, 64, Molecular Biologist Who Studied a Key Protein, Dies|date = June 2, 2006|work = New York Times|url-status = live|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20170205115730/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/us/02roberts.html|archivedate = February 5, 2017}}
Roberts isolated the protein from bovine kidney tissue and compared her results with TGF-β taken from human blood platelets and placental tissue. Institute researchers then began a series of experiments to determine the protein's characteristics. They discovered that it helps play a central role in signaling other growth factors in the body to heal wounds and fractures speedily.
TGF-β was later shown to have additional effects, including regulation of the heartbeat and the response of the eye to aging. In her continuing research, Roberts and others found that TGF-β inhibits the growth of some cancers while stimulating growth in advanced cancers, including cancers of the breast and lung.
Roberts was a former president of the Wound Healing Society{{cite web|url=http://www.woundheal.org/anita-roberts-award |title=Wound Healing Society: Anita Roberts Award |accessdate=September 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121042845/http://www.woundheal.org/anita-roberts-award |archivedate=November 21, 2013 }} In 2005, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.{{Cite web|url =https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/bookofmembers/ChapterR.pdf|title =American Academy of Arts and Sciences Book of Members|url-status =live|archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20151224165403/https://www.amacad.org/multimedia/pdfs/publications/bookofmembers/ChapterR.pdf|archivedate =2015-12-24}}
Roberts herself was diagnosed with stage IV gastric cancer in March 2004. She received a degree of fame in the cancer community for her blog, detailing her daily struggles with the disease.
Awards and recognition
Roberts was the recipient of several awards for her contributions to the field of science. These include: the Leopold Griffuel Prize (2005),{{cite journal |title=Awards, Appointments, Announcements |journal=JNCI |date=4 May 2005 |volume=97 |issue=9 |pages=631 |doi=10.1093/jnci/97.9.631 }} FASEB Excellence in Science Award (2005),{{Cite news|url =http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/asfb-art021505.php|title =Anita Roberts to deliver Excellence in Science lecture|date =Feb 15, 2005|url-status =live|archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155520/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/asfb-art021505.php|archivedate =2015-04-02}} and Komen Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction (2005).{{Cite web|url =http://ww5.komen.org/ResearchGrants/PreviousBrinkerAwardWinners.html|title =Previous Brinker Award Winners|url-status =live|archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230506/http://ww5.komen.org/ResearchGrants/PreviousBrinkerAwardWinners.html|archivedate =2013-12-02}} A lecture series is named for her.{{cite web |url=http://sigs.nih.gov/wsa/Pages/Archives.aspx |title=Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series |accessdate=2015-03-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115746/http://sigs.nih.gov/wsa/Pages/Archives.aspx |archivedate=2015-04-02 }}
As of 2005, she was the 49th most-cited scientist and the third most-cited among all women scientists.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601833.html|title=Noted Cancer Researcher Anita B. Roberts|first=Patricia|last=Sullivan|date=27 May 2006|via=www.washingtonpost.com|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616231337/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601833.html|archivedate=16 June 2006}}
References
External links
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601833.html Obituary: Washington Post]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/us/02roberts.html?ex=1306900800&en=d1973a55b77d047d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Obituary: New York Times]
- [http://www.anitaroberts.net Dr. Roberts' blog detailing her struggles as a cancer patient]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928225716/http://rex.nci.nih.gov/RESEARCH/basic/lc/abr303.htm Dr. Roberts' research page at the NCI/NIH]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Anita}}
Category:American molecular biologists
Category:American women molecular biologists
Category:Oberlin College alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States
Category:Place of death missing
Category:Scientists from Pittsburgh
Category:20th-century American biologists
Category:20th-century American women scientists
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences