imported>MaryMO (AR) at 21:33, 2 September 2021

2021-09-02T21:33:28Z

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{{short description|Plant scientist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Sabeeha Merchant
| alma_mater = [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] (PhD)
| workplaces = [[University of California, Berkeley]] <br> [[University of California, Los Angeles]]
| birth_place = [[Mumbai]]
| birth_name = Sabeeha Sabanali Merchant
| thesis_title = The Chlamydomonas reinhardi chloroplast coupling factor 1 : its purification, properties, and aspects of its synthesis in vivo
| thesis_url = https://www.worldcat.org/title/oclc/10648910
| thesis_year = 1983
| awards = [[Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal]] (2006)<br>[[Member of the National Academy of Sciences]] (2012)
| website = {{URL|http://www.chem.ucla.edu/dept/Faculty/merchant}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|8|31}}
}}

'''Sabeeha Sabanali Merchant''' (born 1959) is a Professor of [[Plant Biology]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. She studies the photosynthetic metabolism and [[metalloenzymes]] In 2010 Merchant led the team that sequenced the ''[[Chlamydomonas]]'' [[genome]].<ref>Merchant, Sabeeha (1998). ''Molecular Biology of Chlamydomonas: Chloroplasts and Mitochondria. Advances in Photosynthesis''. Springer. {{ISBN|978-0-7923-5174-0}}</ref><ref name=epmc>{{EuropePMC|ORCID= 0000-0002-2594-509X}}</ref> She was elected a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (NAS) in 2012.

== Early life and education ==
Merchant was born in [[Mumbai]].<ref name=:0/> She was unsure what to specialise in, and took an aptitude test at the age of 12.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Davis|first=Tinsley H.|date=2015-03-03|title=Profile of Sabeeha Merchant|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=112|issue=9|pages=2633–2634|doi=10.1073/pnas.1500798112|pmc= 4352817 |issn=0027-8424|pmid=25675533|bibcode=2015PNAS..112.2633D}}</ref> Merchant scored well in the science and the humanities, but was selected for the sciences as there were not enough girls in the class.<ref name=":0" /> Merchant attended the [[J.B. Petit High School for Girls]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Indian-American-scientist-honoured-by-US/articleshow/1407846.cms|title=Indian-American scientist honoured by US|last=PTI|date=February 9, 2006|website=indiatimes.com|publisher=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> At the age of fifteen, Merchant started university at [[St. Xavier's College, Mumbai|St. Xavier's College]], where she was one of five women in a class of 300.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.chem.uzh.ch/static/events/mgm/Archive2005.html|title=MGM 2007|website=www.chem.uzh.ch|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> She relocated to the [[United States]]. She joined the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in 1978 and became interested in the chemistry of living cells whilst working under the supervision of [[Glenn Chambliss]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Merchant majored in [[molecular biology]] and earned her bachelor's degree in 1979. She joined the Enzyme Institute to work as [[Henry A. Lardy]]'s secretary, but he encouraged her to apply for graduate programs. She eventually earned her PhD at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/11/26/meet-our-new-faculty-sabeeha-merchant-biology/|title=Meet our new faculty: Sabeeha Merchant, biology|last1=Affairs|first1=Public|last2=November 26|first2=UC Berkeley{{!}}|date=2018-11-26|website=Berkeley News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23|last3=2018}}</ref> She worked alongside [[Bruce Selman]] on the single-cell algae ''[[Chlamydomonas reinhardtii]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chem.ucla.edu/dept/Faculty/merchant/Group1.html|title=Merchant publications from Ph.D. thesis research|website=www.chem.ucla.edu|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> ''[[Chlamydomonas reinhardtii]]'' is a model organism as it can build the relevant systems for [[photosynthesis]] in the absence of light. During her doctorate Merchant purified [[chloroplast]] coupling factor 1, a component of the pathway that uses [[ATP synthase]] to synthesize [[Adenosine triphosphate]] (ATP).

== Research and career ==
After completing her PhD, Merchant joined [[Lawrence Bogorad]] at [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/bogorad-lawrence.pdf|title=Lawrence Bogorad 1921 - 2003: A Biographical Memoir|last=Merchant|first=Sabeeha|website=NAS|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> She started working on light-regulated gene expression.<ref name=":0" /> Unfortunately, four months into her [[postdoctoral research]] fellowship there was a fire in the laboratory.<ref name=":0" /> During this time she began to read in the library, investigating role of metals in the regulation of [[Electron transport chain|photosynthetic electron transport]] in ''[[Chlamydomonas]]''.<ref name=":0" /> She studied how cells detect the levels of [[copper]] and developed antibodies.<ref name=":0" />

Merchant was the first to demonstrate that the [[RNA]] for ''[[Chlamydomonas reinhardtii]]'' [[plastocyanin]] is produced when copper is available.<ref name=":0" /> She used [[pulse-chase analysis]] to show that whilst [[plastocyanin]] is continuously translated, it becomes degraded in systems without enough copper.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1976|title=Studies on chloroplast development in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii IV. Control of rapid chlorophyll formation in greening y-1 cells|journal=Plant and Cell Physiology|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a075363|issn=1471-9053}}</ref> Merchant showed that the [[RNA]] of [[Cytochrome c|cytochrome c6]], an iron-based protein, is only present in [[Copper deficiency|copper deficient]] cells.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Merchant, S|last2=Bogorad, L|year=1986|title=Regulation by copper of the expression of plastocyanin and cytochrome c552 in Chlamydomonas reinhardi.|journal=Molecular and Cellular Biology|volume=6|issue=2|pages=462–9|doi=10.1128/mcb.6.2.462|oclc=679283371|pmc=367534|pmid=3023849}}</ref> She showed that [[Chlamydomonas reinhardtii|''chlamydomonas'']] also contained [[Cytochrome c|cytochrome c6]], which could step in during [[photosynthesis]] if needed.<ref name=":0" />

In 1987 Merchant moved to the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA).<ref name=":0" /> She works on metal nutrient deficiency, which requires water purification systems to generate water that is free of metal contaminants.<ref name=":0" /> In her lab experiments are performed in rigorously cleaned glassware, using [[hydrochloric acid]] to remove surface metal ions.<ref name=":0" /> Her early work considered signalling that responded to copper, but she has since expanded into iron sensing and the impact of iron deficiencies on [[photosynthesis]]. In an effort to understand copper sensing, she studied mutants that did not produce [[plastocyanin]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Merchant|first1=S.|last2=Bogorad|first2=L.|date=1987|title=Metal ion regulated gene expression: use of a plastocyanin-less mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to study the Cu(II)-dependent expression of cytochrome c-552|journal=The EMBO Journal|volume=6|issue=9|pages=2531–2535|doi=10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02540.x|pmid=2824187|issn=0261-4189|pmc=553670}}</ref> She discovered that the regulator for [[plastocyanin]] and [[cytochrome c]] regulation was CRR1 (Copper Response Regulator). She worked with [[Todd Yeates]] on the structure and genetics of [[plastocyanin]] and [[cytochrome c]], uncovering the crystal structures of both proteins.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kerfeld|first1=Cheryl A.|last2=Anwar|first2=Haroon P.|last3=Interrante|first3=Robert|last4=Merchant|first4=Sabeeha|last5=Yeates|first5=Todd O.|date=1995|title=The Structure of Chloroplast Cytochromec6at 1.9 Å Resolution: Evidence for Functional Oligomerization|journal=Journal of Molecular Biology|volume=250|issue=5|pages=627–647|doi=10.1006/jmbi.1995.0404|pmid=7623381|issn=0022-2836}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Redinbo|first1=Matthew R.|last2=Cascio|first2=Duilio|last3=Choukair|first3=Marie K.|last4=Rice|first4=Danny|last5=Merchant|first5=Sabeeha|last6=Yeates|first6=Todd O.|date=1993-10-12|title=The 1.5-.ANG. crystal structure of plastocyanin from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii|journal=Biochemistry|volume=32|issue=40|pages=10560–10567|doi=10.1021/bi00091a005|pmid=8399201|issn=0006-2960}}</ref> She was awarded the [[National Academy of Sciences]] [[Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal]] for her contributions to the assembly of [[Metalloenzyme|metalloenzymes]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/gilbert-morgan-smith-medal.html|title=Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal|website=www.nasonline.org|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> In 2007 she led a team that sequenced the ''[[Chlamydomonas]]'' genome.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grossman|first1=Arthur R.|last2=Rokhsar|first2=Daniel S.|last3=Grigoriev|first3=Igor V.|last4=Zhou|first4=Kemin|last5=Werner|first5=Gregory|last6=Szajkowski|first6=Lukasz|last7=Porter|first7=Aaron|last8=Poliakov|first8=Alexander|last9=Otillar|first9=Bobby|date=2007-10-12|title=The Chlamydomonas Genome Reveals the Evolution of Key Animal and Plant Functions|journal=Science|language=en|volume=318|issue=5848|pages=245–250|doi=10.1126/science.1143609|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17932292|pmc=2875087|bibcode=2007Sci...318..245M}}</ref> Her inaugural article was published in [[PNAS]] in 2009.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Merchant|first=S. S.|date=2009|title=His protects heme as it crosses the membrane|pmid=19541628 |pmc=2700887 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=106|issue=25|pages=10069–10070|doi=10.1073/pnas.0905189106|issn=0027-8424|bibcode=2009PNAS..10610069M}}</ref> She spent 2012 on a sabbatical at the [[Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/26524/2012-05-24|title=Humboldt Research Award for Prof. Dr. Sabeeha Merchant|website=www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> She was appointed Director of the Institute for Genomics and Proteomics at [[UCLA]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/dept/faculty/sabeeha-merchant-appointed-director-ucla-department-of-energy-institute|title=Sabeeha Merchant appointed director, UCLA-Department of Energy Institute|website=UCLA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> She also served on the Life Sciences jury for the [[Infosys Prize]] in 2017.

Merchant moved to the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/11/26/meet-our-new-faculty-sabeeha-merchant-biology/|title=Meet our new faculty: Sabeeha Merchant, biology|last1=Affairs|first1=Public|last2=November 26|first2=UC Berkeley{{!}}|date=2018-11-26|website=Berkeley News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23|last3=2018}}</ref> At Berkeley, she is a Professor of Plant and [[Microbial]] Biology.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/profile/smerchant|title=SMerchant {{!}} Department of Plant & Microbial Biology {{!}} UC Berkeley|website=plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu|language=en|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref> Her lab continue to investigate the metabolism of iron and copper, as well as [[comparative genomics]] of [[algae]] and [[bioenergy]].<ref name=":3" />

Merchant serves as the [[editor-in-chief]] of the ''[[Annual Review of Plant Biology]]'', and was editor-in-chief of ''[[The Plant Cell]]'' from 2015-2019''.''

=== Awards and honors ===
Her awards and honors include;

* 1999 [[American Society of Plant Biologists]] Charles Albert Shull Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspb.org/awards-funding/aspb-awards/charles-albert-shull-award/|title=Charles Albert Shull Award|website=ASPB|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2004 [[University of California, Los Angeles]] Herbert Newby McCoy Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/report/prof/20060204.htm|title=California prof gets National Science Award|website=Rediff|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2005 Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://newsroom.ucla.edu/|title=Newsroom|website=UCLA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2008 Fellow of the [[American Society of Plant Biologists]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspb.org/awards-funding/aspb-awards/fellow-of-aspb/|title=Fellow of ASPB|website=ASPB|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2006 [[Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal]]<ref name=":2" />
* 2010 [[American Society of Plant Biologists]] Charles F. Kettering Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspb.org/awards-funding/aspb-awards/charles-f-kettering-award/|title=Charles F. Kettering Award|website=ASPB|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2012 [[Alexander von Humboldt Foundation]] Humboldt Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/26524/2012-05-24|title=Humboldt Research Award for Prof. Dr. Sabeeha Merchant|website=www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2012 Elected to the [[National Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20027265.html|title=Sabeeha Merchant|website=www.nasonline.org|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2012 [[Botanical Society of America]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/sabeeha-merchant-receives-2012-darbaker-prize-phycology|title=Sabeeha Merchant receives 2012 Darbaker Prize in Phycology {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>
* 2014 Elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
* 2016 Elected to the [[Academy of Sciences Leopoldina]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/sabeeha-merchant-elected-german-national-academy-sciences-leopoldina|title=Sabeeha Merchant elected to German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina {{!}} UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry|website=www.chemistry.ucla.edu|access-date=2019-05-23}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Sabeeha}}
[[Category:Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:American people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Indian women academics]]
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Annual Reviews (publisher) editors]]

Sabeeha Merchant - Revision history

imported>MaryMO (AR) at 21:33, 2 September 2021