Joann Murphy-Ullrich

Joann Murphy-Ullrich contributed to several significant discoveries, including the identification of a cellular de-adhesive role for matricellular extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. This function controls cell adhesion, migration and cell survival, a process called intermediate cell adhesion. She and her team discovered the role of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) as an activator of latent TGF-β, elucidating molecular mechanisms and the role of this pathway in various vascular, pulmonary, and wound healing disorders.

I met Joann as a graduate student. She was always such a great mentor, even to students not in her lab. She was also a wonderful role model, particularly to female students looking to balance the demands of science, home, and life in general. She was/is the woman who really showed me what was possible.

Submitted by Angela Glading