Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue.
Mazel tov to Dr. Julie Forman-Kay, on being named a Fellow of the highly prestigious Royal Society. The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose is to recognize, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. Scientists of the Royal Society continue to make outstanding contributions to science and Julie Forman-Kay exemplifies this. Forman-Kay is program head and senior scientist in the Molecular Medicine Program at the Research Institute of The Hospital for Sick Children and a professor in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Toronto.
The daughter of Vivian Forman and Rabbi Lawrence Forman, Julie is an international pioneer in her field and the foremost Canadian expert in developing and applying tools to study the dynamic structure, interactions and functions of disordered proteins of significant biomedical relevance. Disordered proteins are those that don’t have stable structures, and Forman-Kay’s work overturned the common view that protein function always relies on stable structure, providing a new understanding of the biophysics of disordered protein interactions that regulate essential cellular processes. Her ongoing work in the Forman-Kay Lab continues to break new ground.
Very few scientists are inducted into the Royal Society. Julie joins her husband, Lewis Kay as a member.