可乐视频

When describing her path to becoming a molecular and cellular biologist, Chafen Lu speaks about the pivotal moment when she first encountered Biology Professor Peter Lipke in summer 1987. Lipke was a visiting professor at the university in China where Lu worked as a biochemistry instructor. Lipke鈥檚 lectures focused on molecular biology鈥擫u was his interpreter.

鈥淚 was fascinated,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e talked about recombinant DNA and the application of the technology surrounding it. It was pretty new in China.鈥�

Two years later, Lu was in the United States, working in Lipke鈥檚 lab. He became her mentor and adviser as she earned her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology at CUNY鈥檚 Graduate School.

Lu credits her experiences working with Lipke鈥攚ho recently retired鈥攁s laying the foundation for her career, which includes the development of groundbreaking treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and malaria, among other notable accomplishments. To honor him on his retirement, Lu has established the Peter and Anne Lipke Professorship in Biology at 可乐视频. The goal of the gift is to support research and help the Biology Department continue recruiting top faculty.

鈥淧eter is an inspiration for me, both in my personal and scientific journey,鈥� says Lu. 鈥淏ut more importantly, he is dedicated to mentoring, educating, and increasing campus diversity,鈥� which includes his career-long efforts to increase the number of minority students in his laboratory and biology and the sciences in general.

鈥淲hat could be better than establishing a professorship in his honor, to keep his legacy and values of teaching students and promoting equity and diversity for generations to come,鈥� she adds.

From Rural China to the Big City

Chafen Lu

Chafen Lu鈥檚 story begins in a rural village in China during the Cultural Revolution, when the country鈥檚 goal was to remove any vestiges of capitalist and traditional cultural elements from Chinese society. Like other children at that time, at a young age Lu helped her family, working in the fields and taking care of her younger siblings. Despite the limited educational resources in the local schools (鈥渨e had a sort-of locked cabinet that served as the school library鈥�), Lu excelled academically. When China restored college entrance exams in 1979, she was one of the few from her village to pass and attend university.

鈥淔irst in my family and first in my village for many years,鈥� says Lu.

She wanted to study biology, so she majored in forest protection and then earned her master鈥檚 degree in plant pathology at an agricultural school in northern China. Lu had been thinking about studying in the United States鈥攕ome fellow graduate students had already done so. After the Lipke lectures, she was ready to pursue her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology.

鈥淧eter鈥檚 an amazing mentor,鈥� says Lu. He helped her with the application process to CUNY Graduate School and even met her at the airport. 鈥淗e encouraged independence and critical thinking. We鈥檇 have lab meetings that were always stimulating. He always made himself available whenever I had questions or wanted to share exciting research results,鈥� she adds.

An Outstanding Career

Lu鈥檚 work with Lipke鈥攐n a cell adhesion protein called alpha-agglutinin鈥攚as fundamental to her postdoctoral training and during her career at Millennium Pharmaceuticals leading drug discovery and development teams. A family of cell adhesion molecules called integrins were a key part of the therapeutic antibodies that Lu helped develop for a drug鈥擡ntyvio鈥攖hat has become a preferred treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.

鈥淚t鈥檚 gratifying to see something you worked on turn out to be a treatment that can heal and save lives,鈥� says Lu.

She joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where she trained students in molecular biology and supervised research assistants and postdoctoral fellows. She continued her research, working on multiple projects and publishing prolifically. One project stands out for Lu鈥攖he malaria vaccine design project. 鈥淭he disease is still a global health issue,鈥� she says, 鈥減articularly in Africa and subtropical regions.鈥� Her work is contributing to a more efficacious malaria vaccine.

Just as she was inspired and mentored by Peter Lipke, Lu would like to see her gift of the professorship do the same for 可乐视频.

鈥淚 hope it helps the Biology Department to recruit diverse, talented faculty who will, in turn, prepare students for successful careers in science- and health-related fields.鈥�