Sabrina Shoily and So Young Bae Receive 2026 Marion R. Kramer Scholarship

  • By: hjmoh

Biology PhD Candidate Sabrina Shoily of the Garcia-Marcos Lab, and MCBB PhD Candidate So Young Bae of the Tolan Lab are the 2026 awardees of the Dr. Marion R. Kramer Scholarship.

Sabrina develops and implements biosensors to directly detect any class of endogenous G-protein (Gs, Gi/o, Gq/11, or G12/13) activated by endogenous G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). She has developed a suite of transgenic mouse lines that enable the conditional expression of biosensors, named BRET sensors with ER/K linker and YFP (BERKY), which permit high-fidelity detection of endogenous G-protein activation by endogenous GPCRs in diverse contexts without disrupting the signaling mechanism under investigation.

She has implemented this platform in primary cultures of diverse cell types in isolation under standard culture or native-like tissue conditions, or even in intact tissues with cell-type specificity. She is interested in comprehensively understanding the GPCR-G protein regulatory network. She appreciates the valuable input of her lab members and support of her family toward the progress of her research.

So Young investigates the molecular mechanisms that govern enzyme function and protein–ligand interactions. She is part of a new generation of structural biologists reshaping how we understand the molecular machinery of life. She focuses on the hidden choreography of enzymes—how they shift, flex, and adapt as they interact with small molecules. Her work blends X-ray crystallography, enzyme kinetics, and emerging time-resolved techniques to capture proteins in motion, revealing details that are essential for drug discovery and metabolic research.

So Young has contributed nearly one hundred solved enzyme–small-molecule structures through an industry-collaborative drug discovery project, advancing structure-guided design and deepening understanding of structure–activity relationships. Her research this summer, funded by the Kramer Award, will focus on resolving some key aspects of the catalytic mechanism of ketohexokinase, a key enzyme in fructose metabolism and a drug target with implications for helping solve some of the world’s most prevalent chronic diseases of obesity, liver disease, and type-2 diabetes.

This award provides support for high-achieving women and female students in Biology. The award was established in 2001 in honor of Dr. Marion Kramer who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Boston University in 1963 and went on to a long and satisfying career in biology and medicine.

Congratulations, Sabrina and So Young!