Marsha Henderson came to The Rockefeller University after undergraduate studies at Spelman College and a stint at the biotechnology company Amgen. After working in two other laboratories on a remarkably diverse range of projects, Marsha joined my research group, and began working on the molecular mechanism of action of the drug Gleevec, effective against chronic myelogenous leukemia. Structural studies in my laboratory had shown previously that the specificity of this drug for its target, the protein kinase encoded by the c-Abl and BCR-Abl genes, depends in part upon the recognition of a distorted and inactive conformation of the kinase domain of Abl. Marsha’s graduate research has focused on an analysis of how mutations in Src and in the Abl tyrosine kinases affect the ability of these proteins to be activated and to bind to the drug. Since an unfortunate consequence of Gleevec treatment in many patients is the development of mutations that render the protein resistant to the drug, Marsha’s work is helping in the important task of understanding the mechanisms of resistance and in coming up with strategies for improving the efficacy of alternative inhibitors of the Abl kinase.

In addition to her strengths as a research scientist, Marsha is also an excellent teacher. Since moving with my laboratory to the University of California, Berkeley, Marsha has taken on the responsibility of selecting and recruiting undergraduate students to our laboratory, and then helping these students find the research projects that would help them realize their potential as research scientists. Marsha’s oversight has been responsible for maintaining an extraordinarily high quality of undergraduate engagement in my laboratory, something that is not always easy to accomplish at a large university like Berkeley, where many undergraduates seek out research groups not because they are interested in research but because they feel that this is an important thing to put on their resume. As “dean of undergraduate studies” in the lab, Marsha has ensured that our undergraduate research presentations are one of the highlights of our internal research seminars, and she and I have had the privilege of seeing some these students go on to win awards in campus-wide research competitions. There is no doubt that Marsha will go on to have an impact in the recruitment of students to science wherever it is that she ends up teaching and doing research.

It has been a privilege to have had such a fine scientist and educator as my graduate student at The Rockefeller University.

Mr. President, Mr. Carson and honored guests, it is my pleasure to present to you Marsha Henderson.