Anthony James Pawson (18 October 1952 – 7 August 2013[1]) was a British-born Canadian genetic scientist. He was known and recognized for his work on cellular organization, including how cells respond to growth signals, and how they communicate with each other.[2]
Pawson was born in Maidstone, England.[1] He was the son of the sportsman and writer Tony Pawson, and botanist and high-school teacher Hilarie. He was the eldest of three children.[3]
Pawson died on 7 August 2013 of unspecified causes at the age of 60.[7][8][9][2]
Research
Pawson's research changed the understanding of signal transduction, the molecular mechanisms by which cells respond to external cues, and how they communicate with each other. He identified the phosphotyrosine-binding Src homology 2 (SH2 domain) as the prototypic non-catalytic interaction module. SH2 domains serve as a model for a large family of protein modules that act together to control many aspects of cellular signalling. Since the discovery of SH2 domains, hundreds of different modules have been identified in many proteins.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
2005 Wolf Prize in Medicine "for his discovery of protein domains essential for mediating protein-protein interactions in cellular signaling pathways, and the insights this research has provided into cancer"
2012 Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates, candidate for Nobel Prize in Medicine "for identification of the phosphotyrosine binding SH2 domain and demonstrating its function in protein-protein interactions"
2013 Annual award of the Canadian National Proteomics Network, thereafter named the CNPN-Tony Pawson Proteomics Award[22][21]
^Nash, P.; Tang, X.; Orlicky, S.; Chen, Q.; Gertler, F. B.; Mendenhall, M. D.; Sicheri, F.; Pawson, T.; Tyers, M. (2001). "Multisite phosphorylation of a CDK inhibitor sets a threshold for the onset of DNA replication". Nature. 414 (6863): 514–521. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..514N. doi:10.1038/35107009. PMID11734846. S2CID16924667.
^Salcini, A. E.; McGlade, J.; Pelicci, G.; Nicoletti, I.; Pawson, T.; Pelicci, P. G. (1994). "Formation of Shc-Grb2 complexes is necessary to induce neoplastic transformation by overexpression of Shc proteins". Oncogene. 9 (10): 2827–2836. PMID8084588.
^Henkemeyer, M.; Marengere, L. E.; McGlade, J.; Olivier, J. P.; Conlon, R. A.; Holmyard, D. P.; Letwin, K.; Pawson, T. (1994). "Immunolocalization of the Nuk receptor tyrosine kinase suggests roles in segmental patterning of the brain and axonogenesis". Oncogene. 9 (4): 1001–1014. PMID8134103.
^Crowe, A. J.; McGlade, J.; Pawson, T.; Hayman, M. J. (1994). "Phosphorylation of the SHC proteins on tyrosine correlates with the transformation of fibroblasts and erythroblasts by the v-sea tyrosine kinase". Oncogene. 9 (2): 537–544. PMID8290264.
