引领科学

在正规博彩十大网站排名期间, Sue Jinks-罗伯逊 ’77 spent most afternoons in the lab that went along with her science classes. As a result, she missed out on being involved in many extracurricular activities. 但实验室正是她想去的地方.

“我一直很擅长科学，”她说. “I enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of it, and I loved being in the lab.”

This talent for science and love of being in a lab has been a constant in Jinks-罗伯逊’s career. 她在学术界工作了30多年, 教学, 发表和开展人类遗传学领域的研究. 今天, she is a professor and co-vice chair in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the Duke University School of Medicine, as well as director of Duke’s cell and molecular biology graduate training program. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was recently named Mary Bernheim Distinguished 教授 by Duke University School of Medicine. 2019年4月, she received what those in the science field consider the highest honor: election into the National Academy of Sciences.

作为艾格尼丝·斯科特大学的生物专业学生, Jinks-罗伯逊’s interest in genetics was sparked when she took her first genetics class taught by Harry Wistrand, 谁现在是生物学名誉教授.

“就是这样，”她说. “I fell in love with genetics, and I knew that was the field for me.” 

Jinks-罗伯逊 came to Agnes Scott from her hometown of Panama City, Florida. When she was considering colleges, her mother compiled a list of only women’s colleges. Among the factors that led her to choose Agnes Scott were the beauty of its campus and the fact that four other girls from her high school were also attending the college. Being educated at a women’s college helped build the foundation for success in her career.

“对我来说，上女子学院是件好事，”她说. “I gained a lot of confidence, and I felt I could hold my own in a male-dominated field. I don’t know if that would’ve been the case had I gone to a coed college.”

Jinks-罗伯逊 may have not had a lot of time for activities outside her classes — though she was a member of the Dolphins synchronized swimming club —  but she did establish lifelong friendships during her four years at Agnes Scott. She is part of a group of about 10 former Scotties that still gets together several times a year. She also maintains a fondness for some of her professors who played a role in her education.

自从离开艾格尼丝·斯科特, 金克斯-罗伯逊长期与Wistrand保持联系, 是谁指导她成为遗传学家的. The other professor who had an impact on her was the late 教授 Emerita of English Margaret Pepperdene, 当金克斯-罗伯逊还是学生的时候，谁教过两门乔叟课.

这是用古英语教的,她回忆道, “so I spent hours in the library going through the Old English dictionary to translate what I was reading.” She says those classes and the other English classes she was required to take helped her become a strong writer.

她说:“他们教会我要精确，这非常有价值。. “And that’s something I continue to encourage my students to do today.”

从艾格尼丝·斯科特毕业后, Jinks-罗伯逊 earned a doctorate in genetics from the University of Wisconsin, 麦迪逊, in 1983. She also married her late husband, John, and they had three children. She went on to complete postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, 然后在1987年接受了埃默里大学的一个职位. 她在那里的生物系工作了将近20年, 教学 Introduction to Genetics as well as several upper-level graduate classes.“I enjoyed 教学, but it didn’t leave a lot of time for research,她说。.

所以当她的博士后导师, 托马斯的宠物, 他当时是杜克大学分子遗传学和微生物学的主席, 打电话来鼓励她申请一个教师职位, 她欣然接受了把更多精力放在研究上的机会. 2006年，她和家人搬到了北卡罗来纳州.

Now Jinks-罗伯逊 oversees a lab where the majority of the research is studying genome stability. She uses budding yeast (the yeast used in making beer) as a model genetic system.

“The mechanisms uncovered both in bacteria and yeast are similar to what goes on in human cells,她说。. “我们在酵母身上学到的东西是直接适用的.”

She is studying the processes that lead to destabilization of genetic material, 哪些会对人体造成问题. 这项研究对癌症研究有直接意义, 因为这种疾病的特点是严重的基因组不稳定.

“你在癌症/肿瘤细胞中也能看到同样的事情，”她解释说. “There are distinctive mutation signatures that show up in cancer cells, 但导致这些疾病的原因通常并不为人所知. 这就是链接的由来.” She runs a lab of all women, which she admits is unusual, and is happy it is also a small lab.“我宁愿经营一个实验室，在那里我可以有效地指导人们,她说。, adding that she believes she encourages women in science by being a role model.

去年5月，金克斯-罗伯逊更是成为了榜样, 当她收到这个消息时，她做梦也没想到. Petes called from the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences to tell her that she was elected into the prestigious organization whose members are nominated for their outstanding contributions to research.

“我惊呆了，”她说. “我不知道，这是最棒的部分. 有些人期望这样，但我没有.”The first person Jinks-罗伯逊 says she would have called was her husband, 但不幸的是，他于2016年去世了.“约翰是我最大的啦啦队长，”她回忆道. “他会很激动的.”

而不是, 她打电话给她的大儿子, 谁也是科学家, 我知道他会理解其中的意义. 消息传出后，她被电话和电子邮件淹没了.“It was so nice hearing from so many colleagues and friends,她说。. “Becoming a member of the National Academy of Sciences is a significant recognition and achievement of a career.”

And this long and remarkable career of a woman leading in science had its beginning at Agnes Scott.

Read more stories from the Spring edition of Agnes Scott the Magazine here.