Caltech’s Shu-ou Shan Recognized for Her Research on Molecular Machines in Protein Folding

Shu-ou Shan, the Altair Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, has been awarded the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology.

Along with her faculty responsibilities, Dr. Shan is the executive officer for biochemistry and molecular biophysics at the California Institute of Technology. She has been a faculty member at the institution since 2005. Her main area of research include molecular machines in protein folding, targeting, and quality control as well as the mechanism and engineering of molecular chaperones.

“It is humbling to be in the company of this outstanding group of scientists,” said Dr. Shan. “I am grateful to my mentors throughout my career as well as my colleagues at Caltech who supported me all these years. Most importantly, I want to thank all the students, postdocs, and scientists who actually did the work to drive the science forward. The award belongs as much to them as it does to me.”

Dr. Shan received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Maryland and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University.