Interview: C. Ronald Kahn

[摘要] In the early 1970s, C. Ronald Kahn set out to discover how insulin brings about its far-reaching effects on cells. He suspected it might be triggering a phosphorylation cascade—a hunch that was confirmed when he and colleagues showed the insulin receptor to be a tyrosine kinase. Kahn and colleagues went on to show that the insulin-stimulated receptor acted on a whole series of substrates, which in turn were linked to a myriad of intracellular signaling cascades. Over the following years, they showed how alterations in this intricate web of connections caused specific cells to develop insulin resistance, the cardinal defect in type 2 diabetes and other diseases. Trained as an MD, Kahn came to the Joslin Diabetes Center in 1981, where he has continued to explore the ramifications of his early work while serving first as research director and then, from 2000 to 2007, as president. He currently devotes most of his time to research. He spoke with me at his home in Newton, a suburb of Boston.I have a question about your name—What does the C. stand for? Carl.Why do you use the C. but not the name Carl? When I was born, my mother had an older sister who had died, named Cassie, and she wanted to name me after her. Carl is for Cassie. But she didn't particularly like the name Carl; she was doing it out of respect. She always called me Ronnie, and all my friends called me Ronnie. As I got older, they called me Ron, but I kept the C.I know you were born in Louisville, which is the home of the Kentucky Derby. Correct.I think of rolling hills and horses, but Louisville is not quite like that. Lexington is the heart of horse country, and Louisville is about …

[学科分类] 过敏症与临床免疫学