molecules. Even though Taxol® is now a very widely accepted treatment for cancer patients, it is a very hydrophobic molecule and cannot be dissolved in saline for administration to patients. Instead, it must be given to patients in a different solubilizing substance, called cremophor. This is not an ideal substance for bodily injection and because of this, new therapies involving the combination of Taxol with various parts of other molecules are becoming a bigger frontier for research. Further research With the search for similar microtubulin binding molecules, scientists explored many natural products in the ocean, specifically sponges. It took around 15 years until another molecule with a similar mechanism was found. In more recent years, the molecules that have been discovered have differing structures from Taxol, however the mechanisms still remain to be similar. One in particular is called, discodermolide. Dr. Horwitz and her team were interested in not only the binding site for the molecule on the microtubule, but also the possible allosteric effects that the molecule may have on other parts of the microtubule. In order to test for these effects, the team used a hydrogen-deuterium exchange process. The results showed that there was in fact several changes that occurred along the microtubule separate from the binding site when the molecule was bound. They found that normal microbtubule-associated proteins, or MAPs, were not able to bind to the microtubules in the normal way. When discodermolide and Taxol® were both tested together, the results displayed that they do bind in the same location on the microtubules, however they bind in unique ways from each other. This opened a new door for the team as they decided to attempt making hybrid molecules that would put together the active parts of both of these molecules into one super molecule. Awards and honors Horwitz has received many awards for her work over the years. These awards and honors include: C. Chester Stock Award from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Warren Alpert Foundation Prize from Harvard Medical School Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research American Cancer Society's Medal of Honor AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Canada Gairdner International Award (2019) Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research (2020) References 1937 births Living people American women biochemists Albert Einstein College of Medicine faculty Brandeis University alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Members of the United States National Academy of