Jennifer L. Ross
Alma materWellesley College
University of California, Santa Barbara
AwardsAAAS Fellow (2022)
APS Fellow (2018)
Scientific career
InstitutionsSyracuse University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Massachusetts Amherst
ThesisBiological physics studies of microtubules, taxol, and the microtubules-associated protein, tau
WebsiteRoss Lab

Jennifer L. Ross is an American physicist who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics at Syracuse University. Her research considers active biological condensed matter physics. She was elected fellow of the American Physical Society in 2018 and American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2022.

Early life and education

Ross became interested in science as a young person and spent her childhood playing with a chemistry set.[1] She became interested in physics during her high school years, and eventually studied physics and mathematics at the all-women Wellesley College.[1] She moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara for her graduate studies, where she studied microtubules and taxol.[2] Ross was awarded an National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.[2]

Research and career

In 2007, Ross joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is interested in the physical laws the determine the organization of proteins and organelles inside cells.[3] To study the mechanisms that underpin biological processes, she developed single-molecule imaging to investigate microtubule motor proteins. These proteins are responsible for the movement of materials and organelles through bodily cells. In nerve cells, materials have to be transported over long distances, and defective transport is associated with neuromuscular disease.[4] Ross images these proteins using a super-resolution microscope and fluorescent tagging.[5] She also created an interdisciplinary optics course to train biologists, engineers and chemists in how design, build and use optical microscopes.[4] Together with Margaret Gardel, Ross was awarded a National Science Foundation INSPIRE award to create phase diagrams of biological processes.[4][6]

Ross investigated the processes that underpin cell division, in particular, the assembly of microtubules into mitotic spindles. The spindles serve to separate chromosomes and make sure all cells contain the same genetic information. Ross was the first to demonstrate that the shapes of the spindles can be described by the same physics that are used to describe liquid crystalline materials.[1] She was named the Chair of the Department of Physics at Syracuse University in 2020.[7][8]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Personal life

Ross has two children.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "528: Dr. Jennifer Ross: Studying the Physics of How Cells Self-Organize". People Behind the Science Podcast. 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  2. 1 2 "Jenny Ross' Website". web.physics.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  3. 1 2 "NSF Award Search: Award # 1344203 - INSPIRE Track 1: Condensed Phases and Transitions of Cellular Patterns". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Physicist Jennifer Ross named Cottrell Scholar". Office of News & Media Relations | UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  5. ↑ "Physics Professor Jenny Ross Wins Grant to Study Organization Inside Cell's Space". Office of News & Media Relations | UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  6. ↑ "UMass Amherst physics professor wins grant to study organization inside cell's space". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  7. ↑ "PI: Jennifer Ross". ross-lab. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  8. 1 2 Bernardi, Dan (31 January 2023). "Arts and Sciences Professors Honored by American Association for the Advancement of Science". Syracuse University News. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Biophysical Society - Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award". www.biophysics.org. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  10. ↑ Advancement, Research Corporation for Science. "Scialog® – CMC Fellows and Facilitators". Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  11. ↑ "Jenny Ross named Fellow of the American Physical Society | Department of Physics | UMass Amherst". Physics Department at UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  12. ↑ "The Office of Faculty Development Welcomes New Chancellor's Leadership Fellow, Recognizes Inaugural Fellows". Office of News & Media Relations | UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  13. ↑ "Chancellor's Leadership Fellowship | Office of Faculty Development". Office of Faculty Development : UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  14. ↑ "2022 AAAS Fellows". American Association for the Advancement of Science (Press release). October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "People Behind the Science Podcast - Stories from Scientists about Science, Life, Research, and Science Careers - 528: Studying the Physics of How Cells Self-Organize - Dr. Jennifer Ross on Stitcher". Stitcher. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
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