Dr. Mary Beckerle

Dr. Mary Beckerle obtained her undergraduate training at Wells College and earned a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she provided the initial evidence for a cytoplasmic dynein in microtubule-based intracellular transport. While a post-doctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she demonstrated the presence of a protease at cell-substratum adhesion sites, providing some of the earliest evidence that focal adhesions are dynamic, regulatory structures. She subsequently identified zinc finger proteins, such as zyxin, as focal adhesion constituents and demonstrated shuttling of focal adhesion proteins to the nucleus. In recent work, Dr. Beckerle’s research team has elucidated novel pathways for the control of cell motility and has defined the mechanism by which cells reinforce their actin cytoskeletons in response to mechanical stress. Dr. Beckerle currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Management Board of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in India, and the External Advisory Boards of several NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. In 2018, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences appointed Dr. Beckerle to the Advisory Committee on Science, Engineering, and Technology. She is also a member of NCI’s Board of Scientific Advisors since 2018. Her honors include receipt of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Cancer Society Sword of Hope Award, and the Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology.