Celebrating Dorothy Shippen’s curiosity-driven research career

Like many pivotal discussions in science, Dorothy Shippen’s career-defining moment took place not in the lab, but while socializing after a research conference.

“Have you ever thought about plant telomeres?” she remembered her colleague Tom McKnight, Ph.D., asking her after a day spent at a molecular biology conference in the early 1990s.

Shippen, Ph.D., now a University Distinguished Professor and Regent’s Professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist, admitted that she’d never given much thought to plants before. But when she began considering the longevity of certain plants, especially trees, she realized there was a slew of fascinating questions to ask regarding telomeres, aging and plants.

Telomeres are the tiny protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that prevent DNA from fraying, much like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. They usually become shorter over a person’s life, and the lengths are associated with aging and susceptibility to certain diseases.

Shippen had been studying these structures ever since her postdoctoral studies in the lab of Nobel laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., a biochemist co-credited with the discovery of telomerase, the protein responsible for replenishing telomeres.

“Working with Dr. Blackburn was incredibly inspiring,” Shippen shared. “It taught me to keep an eye open for the extraordinary.”

So, when McKnight asked her about plant telomeres, Shippen decided to follow the curiosity it inspired, not knowing it would lead to her own legacy.

Over the past three-plus decades, Shippen continued asking big questions, which led her research to skyrocket — literally — and she’s gone on to inspire many other graduate students just as Blackburn inspired her.

She’ll soon be retiring from her position, concluding a celebrated career marked by curiosity, bravery and a commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists.

Early transformational discoveries

Shippen had an advanced start compared to most telomere biologists because of her work with Blackburn. But much of the field remained uncharted when she created her own lab. Through her research, Shippen found fascinating parallels and deviations between how plant and human telomeres function.

One standout achievement was identifying a gene involved in telomere replication and critical to stem cell function, which also had implications for human diseases. Her findings drew attention from clinicians, and some reached out to share how her work impacted their patient care.

“It was incredibly gratifying to see our research inform human medicine,” she said.

Shippen cemented her legacy in the life sciences when she established Arabidopsis thaliana as a plant model organism for telomere studies. These days, if a scientist decides to pursue plant research centered around telomeres, odds are their work will involve Arabidopsis and build on Shippen’s pioneering work.

Over the years, her lab’s research reshaped the understanding of telomere biology and spurred collaborations across disciplines to explore gene regulation and other biochemical responses to environmental stressors.

Exploring the final frontier

Even after these meaningful accomplishments, Shippen never slowed down. Not long ago, Shippen’s research took off — into outer space.

An unexpected email from a scientist in Argentina led her to consider the impact of microgravity on plant DNA, igniting a collaboration with NASA and other biologists interested in studying how telomeres change in the hostile environment of space.

Working with collaborators Sarah Wyatt, Ph.D., at Ohio University and Susan Bailey, Ph.D., at Colorado State University, Shippen’s team analyzed how radiation and microgravity influence telomerase activity and genomic stability.

They found evidence that telomerase has a protective, “moonlighting” role beyond its established function, that safeguards plant cells from damage caused by exposure to cosmic radiation during space travel.

Shippen’s investigations expanded to lunar and Martian soil simulants, testing whether plants could grow in these harsh environments. Their work revealed that while plants could survive, their telomeres shortened significantly — a rare occurrence in plants that signifies a stress response.

In collaboration with soil scientists such as Julie Howe, Ph.D., a professor and associate department head in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Shippen’s lab is now identifying the factors in lunar soil, like heavy metals and extreme pH, that lead to telomere instability.

She said the work has implications for space exploration and agriculture here on Earth.

“Understanding how plants adapt to hostile environments is not just for the dream of potential lunar or Martian colonies,” she said. “It can also help inform our approach to improving crop resilience amid environmental changes around the world.”

A legacy of mentorship

Beyond the big questions she’s sought to answer, Shippen’s influence extends to the many successful students she’s mentored.

Andrew Nelson ’12, Ph.D., a former student of Shippen’s and now an associate professor at Cornell University, credits her with teaching him to think critically about science. “She was an incredible cheerleader and advocate for her people, while also holding us to a very high standard,” Nelson said. “She’s a model for how I run my lab.”

Eric Greene ’98, Ph.D., now a professor at Columbia University, echoed that sentiment. “She was the perfect mentor, giving me the freedom to explore and follow my own creativity for what I wanted to do in science.”

Shippen’s mentoring contributions have been recognized by the Texas A&M Association of Former Student’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Graduate Mentoring, the Texas A&M University Aggie Women Network’s Eminent Scholar Award, and the prestigious William C. Rose Award from the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and commitment to training younger scientists.

The Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics has also made plans to honor her legacy with a space in its building, which will be named the Dorothy E. Shippen Graduate Seminar Room.

Throughout her time at Texas A&M, Shippen embraced career reinvention and found rewarding experiences in return. Her advice to emerging scientists is simple: keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.

She’s now wrapping up her ongoing research projects in preparation for retirement, but she hopes to continue promoting the development of strong leaders in science.

“It’s time to pass the torch,” she said. “I’ve had a ball, and I’m excited to see what the next wave of scientists will accomplish.”