{"doi":"10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169089","title":"Making Every Penny Count: Kinase Signaling Transduction, Copper Homeostasis, & Nutrient Sensing","abstract":"• Legacy of Resilience and Representation: Growing up in Virginia, my family's resilience inspired me, but the lack of STEM representation initially limited my awareness of research opportunities.. • Pivotal Research Experience at UNC-CH: As summer research fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill in Dr. Channing Der’s lab introduced me to biomedical research, igniting my passion for scientific discovery and shaping my decision to pursue a Ph.D. in Pharmacology. • Graduate Research on RAS Signaling and Tumorigenesis: At UNC-CH, I studied the role of Rho GTPases in cancer biology under Dr. Adrienne Cox, discovering a novel mechanism by which an atypical Rho GTPase co-opts epithelial polarity proteins to drive tumorigenesis. • Postdoctoral Training and Discovery of Copper’s Role in Kinase Signaling: My postdoctoral work with Dr. Christopher Counter at Duke University expanded my expertise in oncogenic signaling, leading to the discovery that copper regulates MAPK signaling and influences tumorigenesis. • Commitment to Interdisciplinary Science and Mentorship: Throughout my training, diverse collaborations reinforced the value of interdisciplinary science, while my experiences underscored the importance of mentorship, representation, and fostering inclusive scientific environments. I am the Harrison McCrea Dickson, MD, and Clifford C. Baker, MD Presidential Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. I earned a BS in Chemistry from Radford University and a PhD in Pharmacology from UNC-Chapel Hill before completing postdoctoral training at Duke University with Dr. Christopher Counter. At Penn, I lead a research program pioneering metalloallostery , where redox-active metals regulate kinase activity. We investigate the intersection of kinase signaling and copper (Cu) homeostasis, identifying Cu-dependent kinases and developing targeted therapies through drug repurposing and novel drug design. Our work has advanced our understanding of metals in nutrient signaling, energy homeostasis, and cancer metabolism. I am a Pew Biomedical Scholar, a V Foundation Scholar, and the recipient of the Perelman School of Medicine’s Michael S. Brown New Investigator Research Award. I am also a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), having spent the past decade addressing barriers to representation in STEM. In 2021, I was appointed the inaugural Assistant Dean for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) in Research Training at Penn, leading efforts to foster an inclusive research environment. For these contributions, I was recognized with the 2022 Vanderbilt Basic Science Juneteenth Icon Award and the Penn Biomedical Graduate Studies Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Community Service Award.","journal":"Journal of Molecular Biology","year":2025,"id":539014,"datarank":0.20794415416798362,"base_score":1.3862943611198906,"endowment":1.3862943611198906,"self_citation_contribution":0.20794415416798362,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.20794415416798362,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":3,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9574,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":255608,"name":"Donita C. Brady","orcid":"0000-0002-2786-2802","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":35,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:52:25.799399Z","pmid":"40089146","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}