Karen G. Fleming
Born
Karen Renee Gibson
Alma materGeorgetown University
University of Notre Dame
Scientific career
InstitutionsJohns Hopkins University
ThesisExpression of dopamine beta-hydroxylase in drosophila Schneider 2 cells : evidence for a mechanism of membrane binding other than uncleaved signal peptide (1983)
WebsiteFleming Lab

Karen Renee Gibson Fleming is a Professor of Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. She investigates the energetics of transmembrane helix-helix interactions. Fleming was awarded the 2020 Protein Society Carl Brändén Award.

Early life and education

Fleming grew up in a family of doctors and nurses, and decided to study medicine at university.[1] She eventually studied French and pre-medical studies at the University of Notre Dame.[2] She realised that she did not like blood, so moved into scientific research instead.[1] After graduating Fleming attended the Catholic University of the West, where she studied French language and culture, before moving to Washington, D.C. to work at the Embassy of Morocco.[2] Fleming missed scientific research, and decided to work toward a doctorate at Georgetown University.[1] Her PhD focussed on molecular biology and during her research she became increasingly interested in proteins.[1] Fleming was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, where she worked with Donald Engelman in the Department of Molecular Biophysics.[1] Here she investigated the interaction of transmembrane alpha helices.[1]

Research and career

In 2000 Fleming started her research laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.[1] She continued to study the interactions of transmembrane helices, as well as investigating beta barrels.[1][3] Her work on beta barrels allowed her research group to significantly increase the number of known membrane protein stabilities. She created a hydrophobicity scale to describe protein side-chains.[4] Fleming performed some of the first measurements of the thermodynamics of protein folding.[5][6] She developed a theoretical framework to describe the association of helices.[7] In 2010 Fleming served as president of the Gibbs Society of Biological Thermodynamics.[8] Fleming uses her understanding of protein interactions to monitor the maturation of human microorganisms.[9]

Academic service

Alongside her academic research, Fleming runs workshops on diversity and bias.[1][10] During the workshops she discusses social science literature on gender bias and discrimination.[11] The workshops evolved into workshops that cover confidence, the power of bystanders and positive actions that people can take to improve the research community.[1] She maintains the blog Inclusive Excellence' which discusses initiatives to empower women scientists.[12] Fleming was a founder of the Women of Hopkins exhibition, which profiled women members of faculty at Johns Hopkins University.[13] She serves as Co-Chair of the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University Women Faculty Forum.

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include:

Selected publications

  • Fleming, Karen G; Ackerman, Anne L; Engelman, Donald M (1997). "The effect of point mutations on the free energy of transmembrane α-helix dimerization". Journal of Molecular Biology. 272 (2): 266–275. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1997.1236. ISSN 0022-2836. PMID 9299353.
  • Moon, C. Preston; Fleming, Karen G. Side-chain hydrophobicity scale derived from transmembrane protein folding into lipid bilayers. National Academy of Sciences. OCLC 811395678.
  • Fleming, Karen G.; Engelman, Donald M. (2001). "Specificity in transmembrane helix–helix interactions can define a hierarchy of stability for sequence variants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98 (25): 14340–14344. Bibcode:2001PNAS...9814340F. doi:10.1073/pnas.251367498. PMC 64683. PMID 11724930.

Fleming is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Meet Karen Fleming". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  2. 1 2 "Celebration of Science - College of Arts and Sciences - Texas Woman's University". twu.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  3. ↑ Miller, Chris (September 2018). "A mighty stream of membrane proteins". Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 25 (9): 751–753. doi:10.1038/s41594-018-0121-x. ISSN 1545-9985. PMID 30150646.
  4. ↑ Moon, C. Preston; Fleming, Karen G. Side-chain hydrophobicity scale derived from transmembrane protein folding into lipid bilayers. National Academy of Sciences. OCLC 811395678.
  5. 1 2 "The Protein Society announces its 2020 award recipients". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Karen G. (2014). "Energetics of membrane protein folding". Annual Review of Biophysics. 43: 233–255. doi:10.1146/annurev-biophys-051013-022926. ISSN 1936-1238. PMID 24895854.
  7. ↑ Report of the Committee on Proposal Evaluation for Allocation of Supercomputing Time for the Study of Molecular Dynamics: Seventh Round. National Academies Press. 2016-10-31. ISBN 978-0-309-45176-5.
  8. ↑ "30th Gibbs Conference on Biothermodynamics" (PDF). Michigan State.
  9. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award#1931211 - Periplasmic Chaperone Network Organization and Mechanism". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  10. ↑ Gabby Greene (12 October 2018). "Off The Cuff: Karen G. Fleming, Professor". The Oberlin Review. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  11. ↑ "CIRTL & PROF-it Series: Inclusive Pedagogy workshop with Dr. Karen Fleming from JHU". myUMBC. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  12. ↑ "Inclusive Excellence". Inclusive Excellence. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  13. ↑ "The Women of Hopkins". the-women-of-hopkins. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  14. ↑ "Overcoming Implicit Bias Discussion with Dr. Karen Fleming". johnshopkins.campuslabs.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  15. ↑ "2015 Membrane Protein Folding Conference GRC". www.grc.org. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  16. ↑ "Prof. Karen Fleming Wins 2016 Thomas E. Thompson Award". Biophysics. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  17. ↑ "Karen Fleming wins Provost's Prize for Faculty Excellence in Diversity". Biophysics. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  18. ↑ "Biophysicist Karen Fleming wins $50,000 Provost's Prize for Faculty Excellence in Diversity". The Hub. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  19. ↑ "Karen G. Fleming to Receive 2023 Avanti Award in Lipids". The Biophysical Society. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
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