Biology’s Maresca Wins Fulbright; Will Study Mysteries of Cell Division with Portuguese Colleagues

There are more cells in the human body than there are stars in the Milk Way, and billions of these cells reproduce themselves every day through cell division. Essentially, a single cell splits, pulling apart its chromosomes perfectly, and then reforming as two separate cells with two separate, but full sets of perfectly identical chromosomes. Normally, this process works flawlessly, but when it doesn’t, when more chromosomes wind up in one cell than the other—a condition called aneuploidy—the results can be serious and range from cancer to birth defects.

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Thomas Maresca, professor of biology at UMass Amherst, is an expert in cell division, and his work was recently recognized by the Fulbright Scholar’s program. Maresca will spend the Spring semester at Portugal’s Institute de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto working closely with another leader in the field of cell division, Helder Maiato. Maiato has recently pioneered the use of Indian Muntjac (barking deer) cells to study cell division, which is a powerful advance because it allows cell division researchers to apply a reductionist approach to an incredibly complex process in living cells.

Maresca’s goal is to map the pathways that cells utilize to achieve faithful chromosome segregation, which is vital to normal embryonic development and the maintenance of healthy tissues through adulthood. To do so, he and his colleagues need to find answers to two crucial questions: how do cells detect and correct errors during division, and how do cells actually reinforce the physical connections between the chromosomes and the spindle, which is the structure that helps pull the chromosomes apart.

“Scientifically speaking, I can’t wait to get to work with Helder Maiato and his team to make important contributions to our field and to also establish an impactful international collaboration,” says Maresca. “Beyond the science, the Fulbright Program was formed after World War II to promote peace by building cultural bridges between the U.S. and nations around the world, which means that the program expects its awardees to serve as ‘cultural ambassadors.’ It is exciting and humbling that my family and I have been given the opportunity to serve in this role and to help advance the Fulbright’s mission.”