Graduate student Qingyu Shi of the Cui Lab will be the first recipient of a new chemistry scholarship, announced the Awards Committee for Graduate Students this spring.
The Paul Schimmel Scholarship in Biological Chemistry is given to an international student in the biological chemistry stream who is working in areas that align with Dr. Paul Schimmel’s legacy and contributions. These areas include but are not restricted to RNA processes and RNA modifying enzymes (especially tRNA and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetates), enzyme mechanism and kinetics, and evolutionarily new functions of otherwise well-conserved biomolecules.
Transfer RNA, or tRNA, is a type of RNA molecule that plays a crucial role in protein synthesis, acting as an adapter that carries specific amino acids to a cell’s ribosome, where they are assembled into a protein chain. tRNAs are a key part of ensuring the correct amino acids are delivered for protein synthesis, enabling various healthy cell functions.
“I’m honored to be awarded the Paul Schimmel Scholarship in Biological Chemistry,” Shi said. “As a pioneer researcher in the tRNA and tRNA synthetase field, Dr. Schimmel and his work continue to inspire me. His work about how arginyl-tRNA synthetase interacts with the splicing factor SRRM2 to regulate both nuclear trafficking and RNA splicing forms the foundation of my current research.”
Professor Schimmel, who with his wife Cleo Schimmel endowed the award, said he believes that the future of all peoples is dependent on the creation of knowledge. “The teaching of that created knowledge, and the transfer of knowledge to the people… this activity is free of political or religious preferences, or gender orientation.”
Schimmel is both a knowledge-maker and a teacher, with an appointment as Professor of Molecular Medicine and of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. Prior to that, he was MacArthur Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at MIT.
He is widely considered a translational medicine pioneer, developing genetic sequencing approaches that were later adopted for the human genome project. He is the author or coauthor of over 500 scientific research publications and a widely used textbook on biophysical chemistry, and is a cofounder or founding director of several enterprises that have developed FDA-approved medicines building on his academic research. Just one of these medicines has, it is estimated, saved over 800,000 lives.
In his role at The Scripps Research Institute, Schimmel served as Professor Haissi Cui’s postdoctoral supervisor.
Cui said the two had initially been discussing a donation in direct support of her U of T research when the possibility of endowing a scholarship came up. “I wondered if it would be more meaningful to make it into an award.”
She is delighted with the result of that conversation: “It's really nice because the award is for research which is in the tradition of Paul’s research, so there’s a connection right away. It’s also another reason for students applying here to read his papers.”
Shi’s research career at U of T shows how such research bonds, once formed, can be powerful. She and Schimmel have already been two of the co-authors on a paper, Metabolic Regulation of mRNA Splicing, in Trends in Cell Biology.
“The transition from undergraduate to graduate studies was initially challenging,” she said. “As an undergraduate, I benefited from hands-on guidance by great mentors in the chemistry department, who taught me the fundamentals of research.”
“As a graduate student conducting research more independently while balancing coursework, I really appreciate the continual help and encouragement from my lab mates and supervisor, whose support has helped me build the skills and confidence required for my Ph.D.”
Shi says the scholarship will support research to further understand the role of SRRM2 in RNA splicing and its trafficking within nuclear condensates.
“It's very generous of the Schimmels to offer that support,” Prof. Cui said. “Paul has spoken in the past about about how working with companies that develop important drugs has enabled him to have a lot of impact on human health, and how he never regretted doing that. Now he supports researchers working toward similar goals."
Shi’s goal is to develop personalized treatment targeting SRRM2 by utilizing engineered tRNA. “As SRRM2 was recently identified to be a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) gene, our long-term goal is to determine how SRRM2 NDD variants contribute to NDD.”
It is a plan perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the scholarship.
“Knowledge from research discoveries provides enlightenment and is thereby a great force for uplifting and advancing society as a whole,” Schimmel said. "Faculty like Haissi and students like Qingyu epitomize that culture of knowledge and the hope and benefit it brings.”
The future of all peoples is dependent on the creation of knowledge. —Dr. Paul Schimmel