image: Rice’s Department of Chemistry will soon welcome Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede.
Credit: Photo by Johan Wingborg.
Rice University’s Department of Chemistry will soon welcome Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, who will enhance the university’s research efforts in biophysics when she joins the faculty as a professor July 1, backed by a $6 million recruitment grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
This CPRIT funding is part of a larger $67 million package awarded this year to research institutions across Texas, advancing innovative cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment approaches. Wittung-Stafshede’s expertise in metalloproteins and protein aggregation will strengthen the university’s capabilities in basic science, laying the groundwork for future therapies.
Wittung-Stafshede, who previously served as an associate professor of biosciences at Rice from 2004 to 2008, expressed her gratitude for this award from CPRIT and her excitement about returning to the university. “The environment, especially with access to the Texas Medical Center (TMC), offers unique opportunities for collaboration and discovery,” she said.
Focus on proteins and cancer metastasis
Wittung-Stafshede’s research investigates the molecular mechanisms of disease, particularly the role of copper-binding proteins in cancer metastasis. Her work has demonstrated that these metalloproteins, essential for normal cellular functions, can inadvertently aid in the spread of cancer cells by supplying them with copper, a metal critical to tumor growth and dissemination.
Her laboratory employs biochemical and spectroscopic techniques to examine protein interactions at the molecular level, setting the stage for potential future therapies.
“We’re focused on understanding how these proteins use metal ions to operate in cancer cells,” Wittung-Stafshede said. “By understanding how copper proteins contribute to metastasis, we hope to identify targets that could potentially stop cancer from spreading.”
The implications of her research may extend beyond individual cancer types, as copper metabolism could play a role in various malignancies. Wittung-Stafshede’s foundational scientific approach seeks to uncover universal mechanisms that could inform broad treatment strategies.
Linking cancer and neurodegenerative disease
In addition to her cancer research, Wittung-Stafshede is also exploring the role of metal-binding proteins in neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Her studies investigate how these proteins aggregate into harmful clumps, known as amyloids, linked to damage and death of brain cells.
Key questions driving her investigations involve the accumulation of metals in amyloid plaques and the link between metal imbalance and neurodegeneration.
“We need fundamental insights into why these proteins start aggregating and what triggers amyloids to adopt different shapes. We can’t design effective interventions without more basic understanding,” Wittung-Stafshede said. “Truly, many mechanistic questions remain in this field.”
Since 2015, Wittung-Stafshede has been a professor in the Chemical Biology division of the Life Sciences department at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, including a term as division head from 2015 to 2018.
Before her time at Chalmers, she held professorships in the United States for 10 years at Tulane and Rice, followed by seven years at Umeå University. She has published over 270 peer-reviewed papers and numerous popular science articles. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. In 2019, she founded and led a significant initiative at Chalmers for four years to improve gender equality among faculty.
CPRIT was established by the Texas Legislature and approved by voters in 2007. In 2019, Texas voters approved an additional $3 billion for CPRIT, raising the total investment to $6 billion. The agency has awarded more than $3.7 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations, successfully recruiting 306 distinguished researchers to the state.