Kudos
Takagi named a 2014 Research Frontiers Trailblazer
Apr. 24, 2014
Yuichiro Takagi, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the IU School of Medicine, was recently named the recipient of a 2014 Research Frontiers Trailblazer Award.
Yuichiro Takagi, Ph.D.
Dr. Takagi received the honor April 11 at the 2014 IUPUI Research Day in recognition of his work in transcriptional regulation and structural biology. The award included a $1,000 cash prize to support their research.
An internationally recognized expert in the areas of transcriptional regulation and structural biology, Dr. Takagi aims to understand one of the most fundamental life processes: how a cell’s genetic information is copied from sections of DNA, through a process called transcription, and used to eventually produce the proteins necessary for cellular function.
To understand how transcription is regulated, Dr. Takagi devised a highly ambitious plan to solve the structure of the Mediator protein complex, which activates transcription in eukaryotes. This early work on the Mediator complex contributed to the body of work that earned Professor Roger Kornberg the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006.
Dr. Takagi’s seminal work determining the structure of the head portion of the Mediator complex was published in Nature and has had a tremendous impact on his field. His research has also opened up the opportunity for technological breakthroughs in protein expression that, when commercialized, will efficiently provide high quality proteins for biological research.
In addition, Dr. Takagi conducts research in two additional areas: the mechanism underlying Mediator behavior and the physiologic role of transcription factor, TFIIH.
Alexey Kuznetsov, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematical sciences at the School of Science at IUPUI, was also named a 2014 Research Frontiers Trailblazer Awardee.
