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Chemistry Professor Emerita Linda Spremulli will be honored for her lasting impact on generations of scientists ahead of the Linda L. Spremulli Trailblazer Chemistry Symposium on Oct. 2.
When Linda Spremulli joined the department of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1976, she faced two formidable challenges: She was the first woman appointed to the department’s faculty, entering a profession still overwhelmingly dominated by men, and she was building a career in biochemistry, a field that had yet to establish a strong foothold within the department. Over the next four decades, she would help change both — becoming a pioneering scientist in mitochondrial biochemistry, a university leader and a celebrated teacher and mentor who helped open doors for generations that followed.
Being the only woman in a predominantly male environment was somewhat overwhelming,” said Spremulli. “I sometimes felt that being a woman and working in a less well-established area of the department presented significant challenges not faced by my male colleagues. These were challenges I was determined to meet.”
Her legacy will be celebrated at the Linda Spremulli Trailblazer in Chemistry Symposium on Oct. 2, marking the 50th anniversary of Spremulli becoming the first woman to join the Chemistry faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill. The symposium will honor not only the barrier she broke, but the scientific discoveries, teaching and mentorship that defined the five decades that followed.
Spremulli’s scientific path began while she was a graduate student at MIT. Every weekend, she visited the library to read new biochemistry journals. One Sunday, she encountered a paper about Euglena gracilis, an organism that uses mitochondria to produce energy in darkness but develops chloroplasts and turns green when exposed to light.
“That was the beginning of my interest in sub-cellular organelles including mitochondria,” said Spremulli.
Mitochondria are structures within cells that help produce the energy cells need to function. They also contain their own machinery for making a small but critical group of proteins.
“Mitochondrial protein synthesis accounts for only about 2% of the proteins made by the cell, but that 2% is critical for generating the energy the cell needs,” she said.
Her laboratory became a major contributor to understanding that process, identifying some of the molecular machinery mitochondria use to make proteins and helping scientists understand what can happen when that machinery fails.
“There were several cases in which we collaborated with international research groups studying human genetic defects and were able to show that the problems some patients encountered occurred because they could not carry out mitochondrial protein synthesis,” she said.
As influential as Spremulli became in the laboratory, some of her most enduring work took place in the classroom. Matt Redinbo, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Microbiology, remembers Spremulli as an extraordinary teacher whose remarkable memory was matched by a rare ability to make complicated science understandable.
“In terms of her teaching, she was a legend,” said Redinbo. “She would provide the clearest and yet deepest lectures I have seen in my career, and she would annotate them with asides and comments that deepened the impact of the lesson and helped students grasp the concepts.”
An undergraduate once told Redinbo that students sometimes learned something new simply from working through a question on Spremulli’s exams. For Spremulli, great teaching began with understanding the person doing the learning.
“I have always tried to get into the minds of my students, to work with them from where they are, not from where I am,” she said.
When students struggled, she viewed their difficulty as a challenge for the teacher as well.
“I like to rise to the challenge of figuring out how I can make the material accessible to them,” she said. “How can I make them excited about it and enjoy it the way I do?”
The same philosophy shaped her mentoring. Spremulli did not want students simply to follow instructions in the laboratory. She wanted them to become scientists capable of asking their own questions and trusting themselves to find answers.
“It is critical to encourage curiosity and independent thinking, and gradually confidence grows,” said Spremulli. “My goal was to provide students with the knowledge and tools to understand and solve things on their own.”
Mentoring also meant recognizing that students had lives beyond the laboratory. Spremulli counseled trainees about careers, families and the difficult choices that accompany both.
“When students had issues that were important in their lives, I felt privileged to be able to offer advice and, when possible, help facilitate their development as scientists and as human beings in a challenging world,” she said.
Spremulli also served Carolina in leadership positions, including Director of Graduate Studies in Chemistry, Acting Chair, Associate Chair and Interim Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research. Her approach emphasized listening and understanding different perspectives.
“In administration, I always sought to understand other points of view and figure out how a balanced approach could lead to a better solution for all involved,” she said.
Five decades after becoming the chemistry department’s first woman faculty member, Spremulli measures her legacy less by breaking that barrier than by what those who followed her have carried forward.
“In some ways, I think of my students as my family,” she said. “What I have been able to give to them should be carried on to subsequent generations as a gift to the scientific enterprise.”
Read remarks from former mentee Laurie Betts.
Read remarks from former mentee Senyene Hunter.
Read remarks from former mentee Brooke Christian.
By Dave DeFusco, Department of Chemistry
James W.C. White
Craver Family Dean
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