2008 Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research

Dr. Francis T.F. Tsai Baylor College of Medicine

“For his innovative work on determining three-dimensional structures
of molecular chaperones and multi-component protein assemblies
involved in transcription regulation."

Dr. Tsai received his undergraduate education at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine where he earned a joint honors degree in chemistry and biochemistry in 1993.  He received his doctoral degree from the University of Oxford in 1997 and pursued his postdoctoral training as a Wellcome Trust International Prize Traveling Research Fellow at Yale University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  In 2000, he joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine and in 2007 was promoted to associate professor in the Verna and Mars McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Combining structural biology, molecular biology, biochemistry and protein chemistry, Francis T.F. Tsai's fundamental research focuses on how large, energy-dependent molecular machines operate in a cell.

His most notable scientific achievement was determining the three-dimensional structure of ClpB, a large multi-subunit molecular chaperone.  His work could someday lead to a better understanding of protein aggregation disorders and perhaps finding a cure for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Dr. Tsai was recognized on February 13 at a luncheon hosted by The Welch Foundation.  He was presented with the crystal rising star sculpture and $100,000.