Joan Conaway, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research Professor Endowed Title Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair in Cellular and Molecular Biology School Graduate School Department Office of the Provost | Molecular Biology Graduate Programs Cell and Molecular Biology Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Joan W. Conaway, Ph.D., has served as Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research since July 2021, providing strategic leadership for UT Southwestern’s basic biomedical research and guiding the expansion and coordination of resources that support investigations at the forefront of innovation. Dr. Conaway was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2020 and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2002. Her research studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of RNA polymerase II transcription. Her research has highlighted steps in the process that play a role in the development of cancer and other diseases. Before joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Conaway gained national recognition for her work at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She received her undergraduate education from Bryn Mawr College, majoring in chemistry, and in biology with honors from Haverford College. She earned her doctorate in cell biology from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed post-graduate training as a research fellow at the DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Palo Alto, Calif. She also was an associate investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1997 to 2001. Education Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and biology from Bryn Mawr College, with honors from Haverford College Ph.D. in cell biology from Stanford University School of Medicine, with studies under Dr. Roger Kornberg Research fellow at the DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Palo Alto, CA Professional Appointments Investigator, Stowers Institute for Medical Research Affiliate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center Interim Head, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Adjunct Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Associate Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Member, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Associate Member, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Assistant Member, Molecular and Cell Biology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Research Associate and Lecturer, Clayton Foundation Biochemical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin [For additional information, see CV] UTSW Unscripted: Meet Joan Conaway Research Interest Gene regulation, molecular mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription, chromatin modifying and remodeling enzymes Publications The 3′ Pol II pausing at replication-dependent histone genes is regulated by Mediator through Cajal bodies’ association with histone locus bodies Suzuki H, Abe R, Shimada M, Hirose T, Hirose H, Noguchi K, Ike Y, Yasui N, Furugori K, Yamaguchi Y, Toyoda A, Suzuki Y, Yamamoto T, Saitoh N, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Takahashi H Nature communications 2022 Dec 13 UBAP2/UBAP2L regulate UV-induced ubiquitylation of RNA polymerase II and are the human orthologues of yeast Def1 Herlihy AE, Boeing S, Weems JC, Walker J, Dirac-Svejstrup AB, Lehner MH, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Svejstrup JQ DNA repair 2022 Jul 115 Genome-wide analysis of cis-regulatory changes underlying metabolic adaptation of cavefish Krishnan J, Seidel CW, Zhang N, Singh NP, VanCampen J, Peuß R, Xiong S, Kenzior A, Li H, Conaway JW, Rohner N Nature genetics 2022 May 54 684-693 A High-throughput Automated ELISA Assay for Detection of IgG Antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Conkright-Fincham J, Tomomori-Sato C, McGhee R, Leslie EM, Beucher CJ, Weems LE, Sato S, Redwine WB, Weaver KJ, Miller BD, Delventhal KM, Kary JJ, Koebbe AB, Dean A, Witt JL, Remy LM, Parmely TJ, Zhao C, Wang Y, Conaway JW, Unruh JR Bio-protocol 2022 Jan 12 Elongin functions as a loading factor for Mediator at ATF6α-regulated ER stress response genes He Y, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Chen S, Goode ZH, Conaway JW, Conaway RC Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2021 Sep 118 Multiple roles for PARP1 in ALC1-dependent nucleosome remodeling Ooi SK, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Zhang Y, Wen Z, Banks CA, Washburn MP, Unruh JR, Florens L, Conaway RC, Conaway JW Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2021 Sep 118 A role for the Cockayne syndrome B (CSB)-Elongin ubiquitin ligase complex in signal-dependent RNA polymerase II transcription Weems JC, Slaughter BD, Unruh JR, Weaver KJ, Miller BD, Delventhal KM, Conaway JW, Conaway RC Journal of Biological Chemistry 2021 Jul 297 The role of Mediator and Little Elongation Complex in transcription termination Takahashi H, Ranjan A, Chen S, Suzuki H, Shibata M, Hirose T, Hirose H, Sasaki K, Abe R, Chen K, He Y, Zhang Y, Takigawa I, Tsukiyama T, Watanabe M, Fujii S, Iida M, Yamamoto J, Yamaguchi Y, Suzuki Y, Matsumoto M, Nakayama KI, Washburn MP, Saraf A, Florens L, Sato S, Tomomori-Sato C, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Hatakeyama S Nature communications 2020 Dec 11 A six-amino-acid motif is a major determinant in functional evolution of HOX1 proteins Singh NP, de Kumar B, Paulson A, Parrish ME, Zhang Y, Florens L, Conaway JW, Si K, Krumlauf R Genes and Development 2020 Dec 34 1680-1696 Regulation of the RNAPII Pool Is Integral to the DNA Damage Response Tufegdžić Vidaković A, Mitter R, Kelly GP, Neumann M, Harreman M, Rodríguez-Martínez M, Herlihy A, Weems JC, Boeing S, Encheva V, Gaul L, Milligan L, Tollervey D, Conaway RC, Conaway JW, Snijders AP, Stewart A, Svejstrup JQ Cell 2020 Mar 180 1245-1261.e21 Results 1-10 of 201 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Honors & Awards National Academy of Sciences (2020) University of Kansas Cancer Center Directors Award for Basic Research (2019) Helen Nelson Distinguished Chair (2005) Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2002) Burroughs-Wellcome Visiting Professorship, Saint Louis University School of Medicine (2001) ASBMB-Amgen Award (1997) Edward L. and Thelma Gaylord Award for Scientific Excellence (1991) Professional Associations/Affiliations Ad Hoc Member, NIH Molecular Biology Study Section (1993) Associate Editor, Journal of Biological Chemistry (1999-2014) Board of Scientific Counselors - Basic Science for the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland (2010-2015) Chair, Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC). Strasbourg, France (2016-2019) Chairperson, Board of Scientific Counselors - Basic Science for the National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, Maryland (2011-2015) Editorial Board Member, Journal of Biological Chemistry (1993-1998) Editorial Committee, Annual Review of Biochemistry (2007) External Advisory Board for the City of Hope Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences. Duarte, California (2020) Member, NIH Molecular Biology Study Section (1994-1998) Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC). Strasbourg, France (2010)
