Two UT Dallas Scientists Named Guest Editors
of Journal’s Special Issue on Sickle Cell Disease
Publication to Examine State of Research of Blood Disorder
RICHARDSON, Texas (Feb. 5, 2004) — Two scientists from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will play key roles in the production of a special issue of the prestigious journal Cellular and Molecular Biology on the state of sickle cell disease research, the inherited blood disorder which strikes one in 500 African-Americans.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, director of the UTD Sickle Cell Disease Research Center, and Dr. Betty S. Pace, associate director of the center, will serve as guest editors of the special thematic issue of the journal, to be released this month. One of the key publications in its field, Cellular and Molecular Biology is published in France and has a worldwide circulation.
The entire February issue of the journal will be devoted to articles written by leading experts in the field in the hope of bringing “the reader up close to research that will continue to lead to a better quality of life for sickle cell patients worldwide,” Goodman wrote in the publication’s preface.
In all, the special issue will feature 12 articles, including five authored or co-authored by Goodman and one co-authored by Pace.
Sickle cell is an inherited red blood cell disease. Those who suffer from the disease have a genetic error in their hemoglobin, causing the red blood cells to become inflexible and sickle-shaped, which leads to blockages in blood vessels and prevents body tissues from receiving oxygen.
Both Goodman and Pace are noted researchers in the sickle cell field. Goodman was instrumental in the establishment in 2002 of the first National Institutes of Health sickle cell center in the Southwest, a collaboration of UTD, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. He leads a laboratory that discovered the molecular basis for the irreversibly sickled cell.
Goodman is the C.L. and Amelia A. Lundell Professor of Life Sciences at UTD and also serves as director of the university’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Technology. In addition, he is an adjunct professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern. He is president-elect of the Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Chairs.
A medical doctor, Pace is an associate professor of molecular and cell biology at UTD and an adjunct professor at UT Southwestern. She heads a research team at UTD that is developing gene-based therapies as a possible cure for sickle cell disease. Last fall, Pace was named to Popular Science magazine’s second annual “Brilliant 10” — a list of some of the most promising young research scientists in the country.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls about 13,700 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.