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{{Short description|American biological chemistry professor}}
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'''Gary J. Pielak''' (born July 17, 1955) is an American [[Biochemistry|biological chemist]] who is known for developing quantitative techniques for measuring [[protein structure]], [[Protein folding|stability]], diffusion, and concentration in living cells, and under [[Macromolecular crowding|crowded conditions]].
Pielak is the Kenan Distinguished Professor<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Distinguished Professors |url=https://provost.unc.edu/university-distinguished-professors/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Provost & Chief Academic Officer - UNC Chapel Hill |language=en-US}}</ref> of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gary Pielak |url=https://www.med.unc.edu/biochem/directory/pielak/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Biochemistry and Biophysics |language=en-US}}</ref> Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gary Pielak |url=https://unclineberger.org/directory/gary-pielak/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=UNC Lineberger |language=en-US}}</ref> and Department of Chemistry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pielak, Gary |url=https://chem.unc.edu/faculty/pielak-gary/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> He is a Fellow of the Biophysical Society.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clabo |first=Carolyn |date=2023-09-22 |title=Dr. Gary Pielak named 2024 Biophysical Society Fellow |url=https://www.med.unc.edu/biochem/news/dr-gary-pielak-named-2024-biophysical-society-fellow/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Biochemistry and Biophysics |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pielak elected 2024 Biophysical Society Fellow |url=https://chem.unc.edu/news/pielak-elected-2024-biophysical-society-fellow/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Education==
Pielak earned a B.A. in chemistry, ''[[Latin honors|cum laude]],'' from [[Bradley University]] in 1977, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry 1983 from [[Washington State University]] under J. Ivan Legg.<ref name="cv">{{Cite web |title=Curriculum Vitae |author=Gary J. Pielak |work=Pielak Group |date=22 April 2024 |access-date=31 May 2024 |url= https://pielakgroup.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17252/2024/04/pielak_cv9.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531212448/https://pielakgroup.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17252/2024/04/pielak_cv9.pdf|archive-date=31 May 2024}}</ref> His dissertation was titled "Characterization of Arsanilazo & [[Pauly reaction|Sulfanilazo]] Proteins".<ref name="cv"/> He conducted postdoctoral work studying the functional role of certain [[amino acid]] residues on [[cytochrome c]] [[electron transport chain#complex IV|electron transfer]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pielak |first1=Gary J. |last2=Mauk |first2=A. Grant |last3=Smith |first3=Michael |title=Site-directed mutagenesis of cytochrome c shows that an invariant Phe is not essential for function |journal=Nature |date=1985 |volume=313 |issue=5998 |pages=152–154 |doi=10.1038/313152a0 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/313152a0 |access-date=31 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pielak |first1=Gary J. |last2=Coricar |first2=David W. |last3=Moore |first3=Geoffrey R. |last4=Williams |first4=Robert J. P. |title=The structure of cytochrome c and its relation to recent studies of long-range electron transfer |journal=Protein Engineering, Design and Selection |date=1987 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=83–88 |doi=10.1093/protein/1.2.83 |url=https://academic.oup.com/peds/article-abstract/1/2/83/1541870?redirectedFrom=PDF&login=false |access-date=31 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pielak |first1=Gary J. |last2=Boyd |first2=Jonathan |last3=Moore |first3=Geoffrey R. |last4=Williams |first4=Robert J. P. |title=Proton‐NMR studies show that the Thr‐102 mutant of yeast iso‐1‐cytochrome c is a typical member of the eukaryotic cytochrome c family |journal=European Journal of Biochemistry |date=1988 |volume=177 |issue=1 |pages=167–177 |doi=10.1111/j.1432-1033.1988.tb14359.x-i2 |pmid=2846294 |access-date=31 May 2024 |url=https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1432-1033.1988.tb14359.x-i2?src=getftr}}</ref> at the [[University of British Columbia]] with [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]]-winner [[Michael Smith (chemist)|Michael Smith]] and at the [[University of Oxford]] with [[Robert Williams (English chemist)|Robert J.P. Williams]].<ref name="lab bio"/>  He joined the Department of Chemistry at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] in 1989.<ref name="lab bio">{{Cite web |title= Pielak Research Group |author= |work=pielakgroup.web.unc.edu |date= |access-date=31 May 2024 |url= https://pielakgroup.web.unc.edu/pielak/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531212436/https://pielakgroup.web.unc.edu/pielak/|archive-date=31 May 2024}}</ref>
== Research ==
Using in-cell [[nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy]], a technique he helped develop,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dedmon |first=Matthew M. |last2=Patel |first2=Chetan N. |last3=Young |first3=Gregory B. |last4=Pielak |first4=Gary J. |date=2002-09-23 |title=FlgM gains structure in living cells |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.202331299 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=99 |issue=20 |pages=12681–12684 |doi=10.1073/pnas.202331299 |issn=0027-8424|pmc=130520 }}</ref> Pielak determined that the effects of in-cell crowding do not arise solely from the close-packed nature of the [[cytoplasm]] but rather that repulsive and attractive chemical interactions between [[Cellular component|cellular components]] determine the effects of [[macromolecular crowding]]. These interactions organize the inside of cells, controlling [[metabolism]] and [[Cell signaling|signaling]]. He and his collaborators have presented a quantitative model to explain crowding effects that is independent of crowder identity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stewart |first1=Claire J. |last2=Olgenblum |first2=Gil I. |last3=Propst |first3=Ashlee |last4=Harries |first4=Daniel |last5=Pielak |first5=Gary J. |date=2023-01-23 |orig-date=January 23, 2023 |title=Resolving the enthalpy of protein stabilization by macromolecular crowding |journal=Protein Science |language=en |publication-date=2023-01-23 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=e4573 |doi=10.1002/pro.4573 |issn=0961-8368 |pmid=36691735|pmc=9942490 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Guseman |first1=Alex J. |title=Chapter 12. Protein Stability and Weak Intracellular Interactions |date=2019 |work=New Developments in NMR |pages=188–206 |editor-last=Ito |editor-first=Yutaka |url=http://ebook.rsc.org/?DOI=10.1039/9781788013079-00188 |access-date=2024-03-13 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |doi=10.1039/9781788013079-00188 |isbn=978-1-78801-217-1 |s2cid=213364320 |last2=Pielak |first2=Gary J. |editor2-last=Dötsch |editor2-first=Volker |editor3-last=Shirakawa |editor3-first=Masahiro}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pielak |first=Gary |date=March 1, 2021 |title=Dynamical spectroscopy and microscopy of proteins in cells |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbi.2021.02.001 |journal=Current Opinion in Structural Biology |volume=70 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1016/j.sbi.2021.02.001 |pmid=33662744 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Speer |first1=Shannon L. |last2=Stewart |first2=Claire J. |last3=Sapir |first3=Liel |last4=Harries |first4=Daniel |last5=Pielak |first5=Gary J. |date=2022-05-09 |title=Macromolecular Crowding Is More than Hard-Core Repulsions |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-biophys-091321-071829 |journal=Annual Review of Biophysics |language=en |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=267–300 |doi=10.1146/annurev-biophys-091321-071829 |issn=1936-122X |pmid=35239418}}</ref> For his work in this area, he received an NIH Director's Pioneer Award in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 Awardees {{!}} NIH Common Fund |url=https://commonfund.nih.gov/pioneer/AwardRecipients06 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=commonfund.nih.gov}}</ref>
==Selected honors==
Gary Pielak has been on the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal ''[[Protein Science]]'', and serves on the Editorial Board of the journal ''Magnetic Resonance Letters''<ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/magnetic-resonance-letters/about/editorial-board</ref>''.'' He was an invited speaker at the 2017 Nobel Symposium on Protein Folding: ''From Mechanisms to Impact on Cells'', in Stockholm, Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protein folding: Much more intricate than we thought |url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i31/Protein-folding-Much-intricate-thought.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Chemical & Engineering News |language=en}}</ref>
In 2023, Pielak received both the Johnston Teaching Excellence Award and the Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring<ref>{{cite web|title=Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring|website=University of North Carolina Graduate School|url=https://gradschool.unc.edu/academics/awards/mentoringaward.html}}</ref> from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also presented the McElvain Lecture at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin, Madison]] that year.{{CN|date=May 2024}} In 2024, he was an invited speaker at Protein Folding Dynamics [[Gordon Research Conferences|Gordon Research Conference]] in Galveston, Texas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Protein Folding Dynamics Conference GRC |author= |work=grc.org |date= 2024|access-date=31 May 2024 |url= https://www.grc.org/protein-folding-dynamics-conference/2024/|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531211449/https://www.grc.org/protein-folding-dynamics-conference/2024/|archive-date=31 May 2024}}</ref>
==Selected publications==
"Physicochemical properties of cells and their effects on intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs)" (2014). Francois-Xavier Theillet, Andres Binolfi, Tamara Frembgen-Kesner, Karan Hingorani, Mohona Sarkar, Ciara Kyne, Conggang Li, Peter B Crowley, Lila Gierasch, Gary J Pielak, Adrian H Elcock, Anne Gershenson, Philipp Selenko. ''Chemical Reviews'' 114 (13), 6661-6714.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Theillet |first1=Francois-Xavier |last2=Binolfi |first2=Andres |last3=Frembgen-Kesner |first3=Tamara |last4=Hingorani |first4=Karan |last5=Sarkar |first5=Mohona |last6=Kyne |first6=Ciara |last7=Li |first7=Conggang |last8=Crowley |first8=Peter B. |last9=Gierasch |first9=Lila |last10=Pielak |first10=Gary J. |last11=Elcock |first11=Adrian H. |last12=Gershenson |first12=Anne |last13=Selenko |first13=Philipp |date=2014-07-09 |title=Physicochemical Properties of Cells and Their Effects on Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs) |journal=Chemical Reviews |language=en |volume=114 |issue=13 |pages=6661–6714 |doi=10.1021/cr400695p |issn=0009-2665 |pmc=4095937 |pmid=24901537}}</ref>
"FlgM gains structure in living cells" (2002). Matthew M Dedmon, Chetan N Patel, Gregory B Young, Gary J Pielak, ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 99 (20), 12681-12684.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dedmon |first1=Matthew M. |last2=Patel |first2=Chetan N. |last3=Young |first3=Gregory B. |last4=Pielak |first4=Gary J. |date=2002-09-23 |title=FlgM gains structure in living cells |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=99 |issue=20 |pages=12681–12684 |doi=10.1073/pnas.202331299 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=130520 |pmid=12271132|bibcode=2002PNAS...9912681D }}</ref>
"Impact of Protein Denaturants and Stabilizers on Water Structure" (2004). Joseph D. Batchelor, Alina Olteanu, Ashutosh Tripathy, and Gary J. Pielak, ''J. Am. Chem. Soc.'' 2004, 126, 7, 1958–1961.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Batchelor |first1=Joseph D. |last2=Olteanu |first2=Alina |last3=Tripathy |first3=Ashutosh |last4=Pielak |first4=Gary J. |date=2004-02-01 |title=Impact of Protein Denaturants and Stabilizers on Water Structure |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja039335h |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |language=en |volume=126 |issue=7 |pages=1958–1961 |doi=10.1021/ja039335h |pmid=14971928 |issn=0002-7863}}</ref>
"Macromolecular Crowding and Protein Stability" (2012). Yaqiang Wang, Mohona Sarkar, Austin E. Smith, Alexander S. Krois, and Gary J. Pielak, ''J. Am. Chem. Soc.'' 2012, 134, 40, 16614–16618.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Yaqiang |last2=Sarkar |first2=Mohona |last3=Smith |first3=Austin E. |last4=Krois |first4=Alexander S. |last5=Pielak |first5=Gary J. |date=2012-10-10 |title=Macromolecular Crowding and Protein Stability |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja305300m |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |language=en |volume=134 |issue=40 |pages=16614–16618 |doi=10.1021/ja305300m |pmid=22954326 |issn=0002-7863}}</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:American biochemists]]
[[Category:American biophysicists]]
[[Category:American chemists]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina School of Medicine faculty]]