Rowena Green Matthews (born 1938) is the G. Robert Greenberg Distinguished University ''

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

'' at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ann Arbor. Her research focuses on the role of organic cofactors as partners of

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

s catalyzing difficult biochemical reactions, especially

folic acid Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

and

cobalamin Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. One of eight B vitamins, it serves as a vital cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor in DNA synthesis and both fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid and amino a ...

(vitamin B12). Among other honors, she was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 2002 and the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

in 2004.

Early life and education

Matthews was born in Cambridge, England, while her father, biochemist David E. Green, was on sabbatical there. Matthews earned her B.A. in biology ''summa cum laude'' from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1960. As an undergraduate, and for three years thereafter, she worked with George Wald studying a new intermediate in the bleaching of the visual pigment

rhodopsin Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, is a protein encoded by the ''RHO'' gene and a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is a light-sensitive receptor protein that triggers visual phototransduction in rod cells. Rhodopsin mediates dim ...

that temporally coincided with initiation of visual excitation. She then attended graduate school in biophysics at the

, with dissertation research in the laboratory of Vincent Massey. She received her Ph.D. in 1969.

Academic career

After finishing her Ph.D., Matthews remained at the University of Michigan as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Charles Williams in the department of Biological Chemistry and Assistant Research Scientist in the Biophysics Research Division in 1978. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 1981 became a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

in 1986, and became the G. Robert Greenberg Distinguished University Professor in 1995. In 2002, she assumed the position of Senior Research Professor and Charter Faculty Member of the Life Sciences Institute. She retired in 2007, assuming professor ''emeritus'' status.

Awards

She received numerous recognitions and honors during her career, the Repligen award given by the ACS (2001), election to the National Academy of Sciences (2002), the American Academy of Microbiology (2002), the Institute of Medicine (2004), the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(2005), and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(2009). She received the

William C. Rose Award The William C. Rose Award given by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology recognizes outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of younger scientists ...

given by the

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a learned society that was founded on December 26, 1906, at a meeting organized by John Jacob Abel (Johns Hopkins University). The roots of the society were in the American Ph ...

in 2000 and the Repligen Corporation Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes given by the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

in 2001. She was the

Frederick Gowland Hopkins Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (20 June 1861 – 16 May 1947) was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins. He also discovered the amino ...

Lecturer at 12th International Conference of Pteridines and Folates in 2001, an honor she particularly appreciated because her father had worked with Hopkins. She serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

, and has served on the Council of the

. The University of Michigan hosts a professorship honoring Matthews; since 2009 James Bardwell has held the Rowena G. Matthews Collegiate Professorship.

Research

Dr. Matthew's research focused on one-carbon metabolism, with particular emphasis on the enzymes that catalyze the ''de novo'' generation of methyl groups: methionine synthase, a B-12 dependent enzyme in humans, and

methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the methyl cycle, and it is encoded by the ''MTHFR'' gene. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase catalyzes the conversion of 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate, 5,10-methylenet ...

. Her collaboration with geneticist Rima Rozen at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

led to the cloning of human

and the characterization of the C677T polymorphism associated with hyperhomocysteinemia in humans. The polymorphism can lead to a high amount of homocysteine in the bloodstream. High concentrations of homocysteine in the plasma can increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases and the use of folic acid have been shown to decrease the amounts in humans. In collaboration with Prof. Martha Ludwig they elucidated the first X-ray structure of

vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. One of eight B vitamins, it serves as a vital cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor in DNA synthesis and both fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid and amino a ...

bound to a protein, cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase.

Selected publications

* ''A love affair with vitamins'' (2009) * ''Cobalamin- and corrinoid-dependent enzymes'' * ''Cobalamin-dependent and cobamide-dependent methyltransferases'' (2008)

Personal life

Matthews is the eldest daughter of biochemist David E. Green and the aunt of

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences InterViews podcast
with Rowena Matthews {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Rowena Green University of Michigan faculty American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of English descent American women biochemists English biochemists Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Michigan alumni Radcliffe College alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American women academics English women academics 21st-century American women 21st-century English women 1938 births