UT Southwestern Biomedical Researcher to Present the 2018 W. Dial Black Family Lectures

Annual lectures provide valuable forum for students and faculty to hear about cutting-edge medical research from preeminent researchers and scientists

Media Contact: Terry_Goodrich, 254-710-3321
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by Gabrielle White, student newswriter

WACO, Texas (Oct. 23, 2018) – Baylor University’s W. Dial Black Family Lectures will host Steven McKnight, Ph.D., professor and Distinguished Chair in Basic Biomedical Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, for “Discovery of a Neuroprotective Chemical” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in room B. 110 of the Baylor Sciences Building (BSB), 101 Bagby Ave.

The W. Dial Black Family Lectures, which began in 2008, offer a valuable forum for students to interact with professional researchers and enhance research opportunities through discussions with faculty and students. The lectures were made possible through an endowment established by Baylor graduate and former family and consumer science professor Sadie Jo Black, a survivor of two cancer occurrences, to provide a distinguished lectures series focused on preeminent research in cancer, Parkinson’s disease or other major diseases that touch the lives of many families.

“Sadie Jo had a strong desire and passion to encourage students to consider (as part of their career choice) fundamental and applied research directed towards the pursuit of enhanced knowledge and ultimately the treatment of challenging and life-threatening diseases,” said Kevin G. Pinney, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences and chair of the W. Dial Black Family Lectures committee. “The lectures are designed to bring preeminent scientists and medical professionals to the Baylor campus to present cutting-edge research and to cultivate a spark in our students, helping them to realize the wonderful opportunities that lie before them in a research-focused career path. Professor Steven L. McKnight, an outstanding research scholar and visionary, embodies every attribute that Sadie Jo envisioned for this lecture series.”

McKnight has served as chair of the department of biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 1995. He directs an active research laboratory and guided the department’s substantial growth in the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. McKnight also co-founded Tularik, a San Francisco-based biotechnology company devoted to the discovery of ethical drugs acting to treat disease state via the regulation of gene expression. McKnight is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

“Professor McKnight is a preeminent biochemist who has made major discoveries in the areas of gene regulation and transcription factors,” said Mary Lynn Trawick, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a member of the W. Dial Black Family Lectures committee. “He is the recipient of many honors, including the 2014 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences. In addition to his academic research, Professor McKnight has participated in the establishment of three companies.”

Sadie Jo Black graduated from Baylor in 1950 and was an assistant professor in family and consumer sciences for 35 years until her retirement in 1992. She attended public schools in Teague, Texas, where her parents instilled in her and her brother the love of God and His church and peoples, as well as the responsibility of sharing. After surviving cancer herself and touched forever by the impact cancer had on her mother, brother and sister-in-law, Black was passionate about finding a cure for the disease. When she learned about the promising cancer research being conducted at Baylor, she was committed to enhancing these research efforts. She also created the Sadie Jo Black Endowed Fund for Undergraduate Students in Medical Research in 2007. Black passed away in 2010 at the age of 80.

The W. Dial Black Family Lectures are free and open to the public. The lecture will be preceded by a reception at 4:15 p.m. in the second floor A-wing lobby of the BSB. For more information, contact Dr. Kevin Pinney at 254-710-4117.

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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.