David Sanders (biologist)

David Sanders is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University.^[1] He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey,^[2][3] and then attended the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, New York.^[4] He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Yale College in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.^[5] He conducted his Ph.D. research in Biochemistry with Daniel E. Koshland, Jr., who was then editor of the journal Science, at the University of California at Berkeley. Sanders demonstrated that the response regulators in the two-component regulatory systems were phosphorylated on an aspartate residue and that they were protein phosphatases with a covalent intermediate.^[6][7] In 1995, he joined the Markey Center for Structural Biology at Purdue University.^[8] In 2016, Sanders was elected to the West Lafayette City Council, and he is currently a candidate for Indiana State Senator District 23.^[9]

Scientific career

Research

He originated the idea of the "Molecule of the Year" feature in Science.^[10] He was a visiting scientist at the University of California at San Francisco, and then a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is affiliated with MIT. It was there that he began his studies on the entry of viruses into cells with a focus on the inhibition of infection and applications to gene therapy.

He joined the Markey Center for Structural Biology at Purdue University in 1995, where he was the leader of the Molecular Virology program ^[11] and also a member of the Cancer Center. He was the discoverer of a biochemical reaction, thiol-disulfide exchange, that leads to the entry of cancer-causing retroviruses into cells.^[12][13][14] He also is the primary inventor on two U.S. patents on novel gene-therapy delivery techniques.^[15][16]

His work on the Ebola virus led to his participation in the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Biological Weapons Proliferation Prevention Program, a product of the Nunn-Lugar legislation.^[17] His responsibilities included inspecting the Vector laboratory in Siberia, which was the site of biological-weapons development in the era of the Soviet Union. He has investigated the transmission of viruses from other animals, especially birds, to humans and has been invited to speak on ethics,^[18] biodefense, evolution, gene therapy, vaccination and influenza viruses in public forums including regular interviews on WIBC in Indianapolis,^[19]

He is a recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his work on an enzyme that is involved in production of the greenhouse gas and potential energy source, methane ^[20] He is also an American Cancer Society Research Scholar. In 2003 he conducted his sabbatical research at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.

Sanders has been a vocal critic of the Science article authored by Felisa Wolfe-Simon and Paul Davies in which the discovery of arsenic-based life is claimed.^[21] Sanders has argued that the original Science article on the arsenic bacteria should be retracted on the basis that the data in the paper were misrepresented in the article.^[22][23]

Sanders's work on the Ebola virus led to media interviews during the 2014 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Western Africa. He declared that there was little risk on infection for the individual American and asserted that the panic about the virus could be worse than the disease in the United States.^[24] He was an early advocate of focusing on regional centers as places for treatment of Ebola virus victims in the United States^[25] and asserted that patients should share their travel history whenever they meet with a medical provider, stating, "If you go to South America or East Asia there is a different ensemble of possible diseases associated with a set of symptoms, and the physician won't necessarily think about them if he isn't aware of where you've been traveling recently."^[26] He opposed mandatory quarantines for asymptomatic patients that may have been exposed to Ebola virus.^[27] Sanders wrote an article about his experience with the media including an encounter with Karl Rove.^[28]

During the Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak Sanders has been interviewed about the science behind public policy.^[29][30] He was reported to have criticized President Donald Trump for touting the use of chloroquine as a treatment for Coronavirus disease 2019.^[31]

An article by Sanders was featured among a collection about keeping up with the contemporary academic literature.^[32] He has also described new approaches to developing the literary skills of graduate students in the sciences^[33] and rubrics for how to write (and how not to write) a scientific review article.^[34]

Work on plagiarism and academic integrity

Sanders is regarded as a scientific detective,^[35] arguing that plagiarism is a serious academic issue that must be confronted.^[36] He also maintains that guest authors are plagiarists and offers a simpler definition of plagiarism.^[37]

According to The New York Times, Sanders has been responsible for contacting scientific journals and obtaining corrections and retractions of articles by Carlo M. Croce. Sanders "has made claims of falsified data and plagiarism directly to scientific journals where more than 20 of Croce's papers have been published."^[38] In 2017 Croce filed a defamation lawsuit against Sanders, who was quoted in The New York Times article that reported allegations of scientific misconduct against Croce.^[39] In May 2020 Croce lost the defamation lawsuit against Sanders, with the presiding judge writing that "[d]iscovery has proved the existence of about 30 instances of fabrication or duplication" in Croce's research papers and that "Sanders has a knack for detecting image duplication and remembering the blots he sees reported in scientific journals."^[40] The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit of Appeal upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit, stating, "Journals have found research problems and plagiarism in articles coming from Croce’s lab. Sometimes, the problems were severe enough for the journals to publish corrections or expressions of concern (and sometimes to withdraw the paper). However you define 'scientific norms,' we know that academic journals felt some responsibility to alert the scientific community about problems in some of Croce’s papers. That suggests the papers contained problems outside the range of acceptable research and publishing practices. Thus, the statement that people in Croce’s lab have violated scientific norms is substantially true."^[41] Sanders was interviewed about his experience defending himself in the suit wherein he recommended collaborations between scientific whistleblowers.^[42]

Sanders authored an article on reforming grant peer review with the goal of reducing bias.^[43]

University Senate

Sanders has been a critic of Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, expressing his concerns about the effects of a freeze on tuition, as well as the way Purdue adopted and applied its free speech policy^[44]

As Chair of the Purdue University Senate, Sanders published a statement of academic principles.^[45]

Political career

Elections

Since the early 2000s, Sanders has been a Democratic candidate for the Indiana State Senate twice, U.S. Congress three times and the West Lafayette City council twice.

In 2002, he unsuccessfully challenged Republican State Senator Ron Alting in District 22.^[46]

Sanders was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 4th District of Indiana in 2004, 2006, and 2010, losing to Steve Buyers in the first two elections and to Todd Rokita in the third.^[47][48][49] Years later, in a discussion about gerrymandering, Sanders called the seat he ran for in Indiana's 4th Congressional District as having been drawn so that it was "No Republican Left Behind."^[50]

Sanders was elected by Democrats of the 4th Congressional District of Indiana to serve as a delegate pledged to Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.^[51]

On November 3, 2015, Sanders was elected as a City Councilor At-Large for West Lafayette^[52] and on November 5, 2019 David Sanders was reelected.^[53]

On January 25, 2022, Sanders announced his candidacy for Indiana State Senator District 23 stating that "he hoped to help rural counties feel less neglected by the state government.".^[9] His opponent in the election backed out of the only scheduled debate in the race.^[54]

West Lafayette City Council

Sanders began his term on the Council in 2016, after a campaign in which he promised "careful oversight", "transparency" and "quantitative analytical skills".^[55]

In 2017, Sanders introduced and passed a resolution declaring West Lafayette a "machaseh" — that is, a refuge, for immigrants. The resolution was debated at multiple meetings and was crafted to adhere to state law which prohibits sanctuary cities.^[56][57]

In 2017, Sanders took a knee during a city council meeting immediately after the pledge of allegiance. He later wrote an op-ed explaining his reasons which included an "assault on the constitutional right to free speech", “Indiana voter ID laws (the new poll taxes)”, “the war on drugs” and “the very name of our state” as a reminder of the unfair treatment of Native Americans.^[58]

In 2018, Sanders sponsored a resolution to encourage businesses to stop using plastic straws and utensils, which passed the city council.^[59]

In 2021, Sanders sponsored an ordinance to prohibit unlicensed therapists from practicing conversion therapy in West Lafayette. It was withdrawn because of the threat of a lawsuit.^[60]

Sanders has made personal privacy a focus of his city council service and he was the sponsor of an ordinance banning facial recognition surveillance technology that twice passed the city council. It was vetoed by the mayor.^[61][62]

Sanders opposed a tax abatement for Rolls-Royce because he regarded the Economic Revitalization Zone necessary for the abatement to be inconsistent with Indiana law and questioned whether the company needed the tax abatement. He also expressed his concern about providing tax abatements to a company that had been involved in the largest bribery scandal in UK history and was fined by the United States in 2017 for bribery of foreign officials.^[63]

Following the passage of Indiana's abortion law in August 2022, Sanders said that he would donate his city council salary to pay the travel expenses of any city employees who need to travel out of Indiana to obtain an abortion. Sanders told reporters he donates his salary to charitable organizations like religious groups and veterans groups.^[64][65]

References

1. Department Biological Sciences, Purdue University, [1], Web. August 31, 2018,
2. "What I Learn From My Weekly Walks to Synagogue". The Forward. March 15, 2017.
3. "Jewish Post 10 March 2004 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov.
4. . Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
5. "David Sanders Lab, Bio" [2], Web. February 2, 2010
6. Sanders, D. A.; Gillece-Castro, B. L.; Stock, A. M.; Burlingame, A. L.; Koshland, D. E. (December 25, 1989). "Identification of the site of phosphorylation of the chemotaxis response regulator protein, CheY". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 264 (36): 21770–21778. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(20)88250-7. PMID 2689446.
7. Sanders, DA; Gillece-Castro, BL; Burlingame, AL; Koshland, DE (1992). "Phosphorylation site of NtrC, a protein phosphatase whose covalent intermediate activates transcription". J. Bacteriol. 174 (15): 5117–22. doi:10.1128/jb.174.15.5117-5122.1992. PMC 206329. PMID 1321122.
8. David Sandrs: Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, [3], Web. November 4, 2022,
9. Editor, MALINI NAIR City. "Councilman David Sanders runs for state Senate". Purdue Exponent. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
10. "'Science' Names Molecule of the Year". CHE. January 10, 1990. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
11. "Indy.com | Post: Schools waging the good fight against flu | Indianapolis, Indiana." Indy.com | Indianapolis, Indiana., [4], Web. February 2, 2010
12. Avram Sanders, David (2002). "Sulfhydryl Involvement in Fusion Mechanisms". Subcellular Biochemistry. 34: 483–514. doi:10.1007/0-306-46824-7_13. ISBN 0-306-46313-X. PMID 10808342.
13. Sanders, D (2003). "Ancient viruses in the fight against HIV". Drug Discovery Today. 8 (7): 287–291. doi:10.1016/S1359-6446(03)02651-5. PMID 12654538.
14. Pinter, A; Kopelman, R; Li, Z; Kayman, S C; Sanders, D A (1997). "Localization of the labile disulfide bond between SU and TM of the murine leukemia virus envelope protein complex to a highly conserved CWLC motif in SU that resembles the active-site sequence of thiol-disulfide exchange enzymes". Journal of Virology. 71 (10): 8073–8077. doi:10.1128/JVI.71.10.8073-8077.1997. PMC 192174. PMID 9311907.
15. US 7033595, "Pseudotyped retroviruses and stable cell lines for their production" 
16. US 7981656, "Pseudotyped retrovirus with modified ebola glycoprotein" 
17. "Making a name by being himself." Evansville Courier & Press: Local Evansville, Indiana News Delivered Throughout the Day., [5], Web. February 2, 2010.
18. "Student Pugwash conference at Purdue University. : Adventures in Ethics and Science." ScienceBlogs., [6] June 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Web. February 2, 2010.
19. "Researchers Continue Learning About H1N1 | Indy's News Center - 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis - Live. Local. First." Indy's News Center - 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis - Live. Local. First., [7], Web. February 2, 2010
20. "DIR9." Nsf.gov - National Science Foundation - US National Science Foundation (NSF). , [8]. Web. February 2, 2010.
21. "Cricket Media". shop.cricketmedia.com.
22. Marcus, Author Adam (July 9, 2012). "Despite refutation, Science arsenic life paper deserves retraction, scientist argues". {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
23. . Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
24. "Video". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
25. "Video". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
26. Service, Indiana News. "Not All Hospitals Equipped to Treat Ebola". NUVO.
27. Ashley Fantz (October 27, 2014). "New Jersey releases nurse quarantined in Ebola scare". CNN.
28. "Catching the bug | Columns | Journal Gazette". www.journalgazette.net.
29. "Article". www.bloomberg.com.
30. "Article". www.bloomberg.com.
31. "Article". www.bloomberg.com.
32. "How can academics keep up with the literature?". Times Higher Education (THE). August 22, 2019.
33. "Scientists should use new pedagogical techniques to help Ph.D. student learn how to write for their fields (opinion) | Inside Higher Ed". www.insidehighered.com.
34. Sanders, David Avram (July 1, 2020). "How to write (and how not to write) a scientific review article". Clinical Biochemistry. 81: 65–68. doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2020.04.006. PMID 32371050. S2CID 219051026.
35. "Each scientist must stand up, at all costs, for the truth". Times Higher Education (THE). July 9, 2020.
36. "We must take academic plagiarism seriously". Times Higher Education (THE). October 11, 2018.
37. "Guest authors are plagiarists". Times Higher Education (THE). March 30, 2020.
38. Glanz, James; Armendariz, Agustin (March 8, 2017). "Years of Ethics Charges, but Star Cancer Researcher Gets a Pass". The New York Times.
39. "Croce v. Sanders". PacerMonitor LLC. April 20, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
40. [9] The 12th May 2020 Opinion and Order. [10]
41. https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/croce-appeal-opinion.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
42. "A scientist critic was sued, and won — but did not emerge unscathed. This is his story". July 2021.
43. "Peer review should be a two-stage, science-first process". Times Higher Education (THE). April 4, 2019.
44. Sanders, David (February 28, 2016). "Where Purdue, Daniels failed on free speech". Journal and Courier.
45. Sanders, David. "Op-ed: Principles we must keep at Purdue". Journal and Courier.
46. "District 22". Ballotpedia.
47. "Sanders Makes Third Run for House Seat." WLFI.com [11] January 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Web. January 21, 2010.
48. ALLEN, SCOTT. "Hershman, Rokita to run". Newsbug.info.
49. Times, The Hoosier. "Reporter Times". The Hoosier Times.
50. "City Council supports resolution to change redistricting". Purdue Exponent.
51. "Indiana Democrat Delegation 2008." The Green Papers: United States Midterm Election 2010. [12]. Web. February 2, 2010.
52. Bangert, Dave. "WL mayor gets his team, 'more or less'". Journal and Courier.
53. Bangert, Dave. "Election results 2019: Six West Lafayette City Council incumbents win". Journal and Courier.
54. "Debates canceled after both Senate and House candidates unable to agree to rules". August 25, 2022.
55. Wilkins, Ron (October 29, 2015). "Sparking development among top priorities for at-large opponents". Journal and Courier.
56. Bangert, Dave (March 7, 2017). "Bangert: Just shy of sanctuary city in West Lafayette". Journal and Courier.
57. Ervin, Jeremy (March 6, 2017). "Immigration resolution passes West Side city council". Journal and Courier.
58. Sanders, David (January 19, 2018). "West Lafayette City Council member: Why I took a knee after the Pledge of Allegiance". Journal & Courier.
59. Bangert, Dave (February 4, 2019). "Plastic straw ban? Not quite, as West Lafayette pushes restaurants to cut back". Journal and Courier.
60. Thorp, Benjamin (January 31, 2022). "An ordinance banning conversion therapy to get new language, but West Lafayette Mayor still plans veto". WBAA.
61. Christopherson, Margaret (November 2, 2021). "West Lafayette mayor vetoes council's ban on use of facial-recognition surveillance technology". Journal and Courier.
62. "West Lafayette City Council approves ban on facial recognition technology" [13]
63. Thorp, Benjamin (May 3, 2022). "West Lafayette City Council spars over tax abatement for aerospace company Rolls-Royce". WBAA.
64. Watson, Deanna (September 9, 2022). "West Lafayette council member donates salary to abortion travel expenses". Journal and Courier.
65. "Meeting Video Archive". West Lafayette City Council. September 6, 2022.

External links

• Indiana State Senate campaign site
• Academic website