Pioneering Vanderbilt University structural biologist Charles Sanders, Ph.D., has been named interim editor of Biochemistry, an eminent journal for publishing research articles about the molecular structure, mechanisms and interactions of important biological molecules.
Sanders is professor of Biochemistry and Medicine and the Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Professor of Cardiovascular Research. His appointment follows the death last month of Vanderbilt colleague Richard N. Armstrong, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, who had served as the magazine’s editor-in-chief since 2004.
“Given that the 55-year history of Biochemistry includes only three editors, it will be a particular honor to serve as a steward in terms of editorial responsibility until a new editor-in-chief is named,” said Sanders, an associate editor of the journal since 2004.
“Moreover, the fact that more than 40 of my own papers have been published in this journal reflects my own high regard for the quality and fairness of its editorial team and policies, which I am committed to upholding,” he said.
Sanders is the second Vanderbilt scientist this month to be named interim editor of a major journal. The other is F. Peter (Fred) Guengerich, Ph.D., interim editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
A pioneer in the use of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) methods to determine the structure of membrane proteins, Sanders earned his bachelor’s degree from Milligan College in East Tennessee, and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University under the direction of Ming-Daw Tsai, Ph.D.
After completing postdoctoral research with James Prestegard, Ph.D., at Yale University, Sanders was on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University for 11 years before coming to Vanderbilt in 2002.
His honors include two from Vanderbilt — the Chancellor’s Award for Research (2010) and the Sidney P. Colowick Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research (2011) — the Anatrace Membrane Protein Award from the Biophysical Society (2012) and the Hans Neurath Award from the Protein Society (2013).
