Isaura Meza
Isaura Meza | |
|---|---|
| Born | 11 May 1942 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupation | Microbiologist |
| Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship (1980) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | Studies on the chemistry and structure of sea urchin microtubules (1972) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | CINVESTAV |
Isaura Meza Gómez-Palacio (born 11 May 1942) is a Mexican microbiologist who specialises in eukaryotic cytoskeletal protein genes. A 1980 Guggenheim Fellow, she worked as a professor and researcher at CINVESTAV.
Biography
[edit]She was born on 11 May 1942 in Mexico City.[1] She obtained her licentiate in biology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1964 and her master of science degree from CINVESTAV in 1967.[1] After spending a year as a research fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1966-1967) and a year of study at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1968–1969), she obtained her PhD in Zoology from University of California, Berkeley in 1972;[1] her dissertation was titled Studies on the chemistry and structure of sea urchin microtubules.[2]
She worked at UCB as a research fellow and teaching assistant from 1969 until 1972, when she moved to the University of Geneva to become a postdoctoral fellow.[1] In 1974, she left Geneva and returned to CINVESTAV to become assistant professor of cell biology; she was promoted to associate professor in 1975,[1] before eventually being promoted to researcher emeritus.[3]
She focuses on eukaryotic cytoskeletal protein genes.[4] Her work group at UCB was among the first to describe the protein organization of the structures that enable sperm flagella to move for egg fertilization.[5] In 1980, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study tubulin genetics.[6][1] In 2017, she led a research team identifying BIRC3 for breast cancer treatment.[7]
She co-authored a popular science book named Máquinas vivientes (lit. 'Living machines').[8]
Mirna Servín said that her work "laid the foundations for what later became a boom in molecular biology studies of these parasites".[5] Xochitl Pilli Rodríguez Flores called her "a pioneer in the study of the amoeba cytoskeleton in our country [Mexico]".[4] In 2013, she was awarded the Omecíhuatl Medal.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Reports of the President and the Treasurer. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 1980. p. 125-126.
- ^ Studies on the chemistry and structure of sea urchin microtubules (Thesis). University of California, Berkeley. 1972. OCLC 17929492.
- ^ "Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional". Cinvestav (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ a b Rodríguez Flores, Xochitl Pilli. "La mujer mexicana en la ciencia". Boletín Aleación de la Red de Divulgadores de la Ciencia y la Cultura "José Antonio Alzate" (in Spanish): 6-7.
- ^ a b "Isaura Meza Gómez-Palacio: El movimiento es vida". La Jornada (in Spanish). 11 September 2000. Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Isaura Meza". Guggenheim Fellowships. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Identifican gen relacionado con la resistencia a tratamientos de cáncer de mama". CONACYT (in Spanish). 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Dra. Isaura Meza". www.codigoradio.cultura.df.gob.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
- ^ "Medalla Omecíhuatl". Secretaria de las Mujeres de la Ciudad de México (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2025.