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Department of Biology, Report to the President 2016-2017
Department of Biology Academic year 2016–2017 was exciting and productive for the Department of Biology. The department is considered one of the best biological science departments in the world. Our superb faculty members are leaders in biological research and education. Some of the news regarding our faculty, research, and educational programs is highlighted below. Faculty Count and Departures During AY2017, the Department of Biology had 56 faculty members: 44 full professors, eight associate professors, and four assistant professors. Research homes are distributed among Building 68, the Broad Institute, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. In addition to 56 primary faculty members, there were six faculty members with secondary appointments in Biology. These joint faculty members provide important connections to other departments, including Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chemistry, Biological Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. We are saddened by the loss of Professor Susan Lindquist, who passed away in October 2016. Hidde Ploegh (Whitehead Institute) moved to Children’s Hospital in January 2017. Professor William (Chip) Quinn (Biology/Brain and Cognitive Sciences) retired in July 2016. Faculty Awards Department of Biology faculty members are widely recognized for their contributions to the field. Among our core faculty are three Nobel Laureates, 30 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 14 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, four recipients of the National Science Foundation National Medal of Science, and 15 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators. -
James D. Watson Molecular Biologist, Nobel Laureate ( 1928 – )
James D. Watson Molecular biologist, Nobel Laureate ( 1928 – ) Watson is a molecular biologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the struc- ture of DNA. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Watson was born in Chicago, and early on showed his brilliance, appearing on Quiz Kids, a popular radio show that challenged precocious youngsters to answer ques- tions. Thanks to the liberal policy of University of Chicago president ROBERT HUTCHINS, Watson was able to enroll there at the age of 15, earning a B.S. in Zoology in 1947. He was attracted to the work of Salvador Luria, who eventually shared a Nobel Prize with Max Delbrück for their work on the nature of genetic mutations. In 1948, Watson began research in Luria’s laboratory and he received his Ph.D. in Zoology at Indiana University in 1950 at age 22. In 1951, the chemist Linus Pauling published his model of the protein alpha helix, find- ings that grew out of Pauling’s relentless efforts in X-ray crystallography and molecu- lar model building. Watson now wanted to learn to perform X-ray diffraction experi- ments so that he could work to determine the structure of DNA. Watson and Francis Crick proceeded to deduce the double helix structure of DNA, which they submitted to the journal Nature and was subsequently published on April 25, 1953. Watson subsequently presented a paper on the double helical structure of DNA at the Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Viruses in early June 1953. -
Jewels in the Crown
Jewels in the crown CSHL’s 8 Nobel laureates Eight scientists who have worked at Cold Max Delbrück and Salvador Luria Spring Harbor Laboratory over its first 125 years have earned the ultimate Beginning in 1941, two scientists, both refugees of European honor, the Nobel Prize for Physiology fascism, began spending their summers doing research at Cold or Medicine. Some have been full- Spring Harbor. In this idyllic setting, the pair—who had full-time time faculty members; others came appointments elsewhere—explored the deep mystery of genetics to the Lab to do summer research by exploiting the simplicity of tiny viruses called bacteriophages, or a postdoctoral fellowship. Two, or phages, which infect bacteria. Max Delbrück and Salvador who performed experiments at Luria, original protagonists in what came to be called the Phage the Lab as part of the historic Group, were at the center of a movement whose members made Phage Group, later served as seminal discoveries that launched the revolutionary field of mo- Directors. lecular genetics. Their distinctive math- and physics-oriented ap- Peter Tarr proach to biology, partly a reflection of Delbrück’s physics train- ing, was propagated far and wide via the famous Phage Course that Delbrück first taught in 1945. The famous Luria-Delbrück experiment of 1943 showed that genetic mutations occur ran- domly in bacteria, not necessarily in response to selection. The pair also showed that resistance was a heritable trait in the tiny organisms. Delbrück and Luria, along with Alfred Hershey, were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1969 “for their discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses.” Barbara McClintock Alfred Hershey Today we know that “jumping genes”—transposable elements (TEs)—are littered everywhere, like so much Alfred Hershey first came to Cold Spring Harbor to participate in Phage Group wreckage, in the chromosomes of every organism. -
Happy Birthday to Renato Dulbecco, Cancer Researcher Extraordinaire
pbs.org http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/happy-birthday-renato-dulbecco-cancer-researcher-extraordinaire/ Happy birthday to Renato Dulbecco, cancer researcher extraordinaire Photo of Renato Dulbecco (public domain) Every elementary school student knows that Feb. 22 is George Washington’s birthday. Far fewer (if any) know that it is also the birthday of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Renato Dulbecco. While not the father of his country — he was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1947 — Renato Dulbecco is credited with playing a crucial role in our understanding of oncoviruses, a class of viruses that cause cancer when they infect animal cells. Dulbecco was born in Catanzaro, the capital of the Calabria region of Italy. Early in his childhood, after his father was drafted into the army during World War I, his family moved to northern Italy (first Cuneo, then Turin, and thence to Liguria). A bright boy, young Renato whizzed through high school and graduated in 1930 at the age of 16. From there, he attended the University of Turin, where he studied mathematics, physics, and ultimately medicine. Dulbecco found biology far more fascinating than the actual practice of medicine. As a result, he studied under the famed anatomist, Giuseppe Levi, and graduated at age 22 in 1936 at the top of his class with a degree in morbid anatomy and pathology (in essence, the study of disease). Soon after receiving his diploma, Dr. Dulbecco was inducted into the Italian army as a medical officer. Although he completed his military tour of duty by 1938, he was called back in 1940 when Italy entered World War II. -
Renato Dulbecco
BIOLOGIE ET HISTOIRE Renato Dulbecco Renato Dulbecco : de la virologie à la cancérologie F.N.R. RENAUD 1 résumé Né en Italie, Renato Dulbecco fait de brillantes études médicales mais est plus intéressé par la recherche en biologie que par la pratique médicale. Accueilli par Giuseppe Levi, il apprend l’histologie et la culture cellulaire avant de rejoindre le laboratoire de S.E. Luria puis celui de M. Delbrück pour travailler sur les systèmes bactéries-bactériophages puis sur la relation cellules-virus. Il met au point la méthode des plages de lyse virales sur des cultures cellulaires. Il est aussi à l’origine de la virologie tumorale moléculaire. D. Baltimore, HM Temin et lui-même sont récompensés par le prix Nobel de médecine et physiologie en 1975 pour leurs travaux sur l'interaction entre les virus tumoraux et le matériel génétique du matériel cellulaire. Très tourné vers les aspects pratiques et expérimentaux de la recherche, il est resté le plus long - temps possible à la paillasse et a initié un très grand nombre de jeunes chercheurs. mots-clés : culture cellulaire, virologie tumorale, plages de lyse, bactériophages. I. - LA JEUNESSE DE RENATO DULBECCO C'est à Catanzaro, capitale régionale de la Calabre en Italie, que naît Renato Dulbecco le 22 février 1914. Sa mère est Calabraise et son père Ligurien. Il ne reste que très peu de temps dans le sud de l’Italie, car son père est mobilisé et sa famille doit déménager dans le nord à Cuneo, puis à Turin. À la fin de la guerre, la famille Dulbeco s'ins - talle à Imperia en Ligurie. -
The Eighth Day of Creation”: Looking Back Across 40 Years to the Birth of Molecular Biology and the Roots of Modern Cell Biology
“The Eighth Day of Creation”: looking back across 40 years to the birth of molecular biology and the roots of modern cell biology Mark Peifer1 1 Department of Biology and Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3280, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA * To whom correspondence should be addressed Email: [email protected] Phone: (919) 962-2272 1 Forty years ago, Horace Judson’s “The Eight Day of Creation” was published, a book vividly recounting the foundations of modern biology, the molecular biology revolution. This book inspired many in my generation. The anniversary provides a chance for a new generation to take a look back, to see how science has changed and hasn’t changed. Many central players in the book, including Sydney Brenner, Seymour Benzer and Francois Jacob, would go on to be among the founders of modern cell, developmental, and neurobiology. These players come alive via their own words, as complex individuals, both heroes and anti-heroes. The technologies and experimental approaches they pioneered, ranging from cell fractionation to immunoprecipitation to structural biology, and the multidisciplinary approaches they took continue to power and inspire our work today. In the process, Judson brings out of the shadows the central roles played by women in many of the era’s discoveries. He provides us with a vision of how science and scientists have changed, of how many things about our endeavor never change, and how some new ideas are perhaps not as new as we’d like to think. 2 In 1979 Horace Judson completed a ten-year project about cell and molecular biology’s foundations, unveiling “The Eighth Day of Creation”, a book I view as one of the most masterful evocations of a scientific revolution (Judson, 1979). -
Erwin Chargaff 1905–2002
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ERWIN CHARGAFF 1 9 0 5 – 2 0 0 2 A Biographical Memoir by SEYMOUR S. COHEN with selected bibliography by ROBERT LEHMAN Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir 2010 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. ERWIN CHARGAFF August 11, 1905–June 20, 2002 BY SEYMOUR S . COHEN 1 AND ROBERT LEHMAN N 1944, AS VARIOUS ARMIES WERE planning to invade central IEurope, the recently naturalized U.S. citizen and Columbia University biochemist had learned of the report of O. T. Avery and his colleagues that the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of a specific strain of pneumococcus constituted the genetically specific hereditary determinant of that bacterium. Almost alone among the scientists of the time, Chargaff accepted the unusual Avery report and concluded that genetic differ- ences among DNAs must be reflected in chemical differences among these substances. He was actually the first biochemist to reorganize his laboratory to test this hypothesis, which he went on to prove by 1949. His results and the subsequent work on the nature of DNA and heredity transformed biomedical research and training for the next fifty years at least, and established potentialities for the development of biology, which have created economic entities and opportunities, as well as major ethical and political controversies. Trained as an analytical chemist, Chargaff had never imagined that he would help to solve a major cytological problem. Reprinted with the permission from Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (vol. -
Chemical Heritage Foundation Boris Magasanik
CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION BORIS MAGASANIK Transcript of an interview Conducted by Sondra Schlesinger In three sessions between 1993 and 1995 This interview has been designated as Free Access. One may view, quote from, cite, or reproduce the oral history with the permission of CHF. Please note: Users citing this interview for purposes of publication are obliged under the terms of the Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program to credit CHF using the format below: Boris Magasanik, interview by Sondra Schlesinger, 1993-1995 (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript # 0186). Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program 315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society. BORIS MAGASANIK 1919 Born in Kharkoff, Russia, on December 19 Education 1941 B.S., biochemistry, City College of New York 1948 Ph.D., biochemistry, Columbia University Professional Experience Columbia University 1948-1949 Research Assistant, Department -
Front Matter (PDF)
COLD SPRING HARBOR SYMPOSIA ON QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGY VOLUME XXVI COLD SPRING HARBOR SYMPOSIA ON QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGY Founded in 1933 by REGINALD G. HARRIS Director o/ the Biological Laboratory 1924 to 1936 The Symposia were organized and managed by Dr. Harris until his death. Their continued use- /ulness is a tribute to the soundness o/ his vision. The Symposium volumes are published by the Long Island Biological Association as a part of the work of the Biological Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor, L.I., New York COLD SPRING HARBOR SYMPOSIA ON QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGY VOLUME XXVI Cellular Regulatory Mechanisms THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY COLD SPRING HARBOR, L.I., NEW YORK 1961 COPYRIGHT 1962 BY THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY LONG ISLAND BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, INC. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 34-8174 All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part except by reviewers for the public press without written permission from the publisher PRINTED BY WAVERLY PRESS, INC., BALTIMORE,MARYLAND, U.S.A. FOREWORD During the past twenty years, research in genetics and biochemistry, while superficially directed toward an understanding of different aspects of cell behavior, has been moving to a union which appears to have been completed in the presen- tations at this symposium on Cell Regulatory Mechanisms. Sessions were devoted to the role of the genetic material as an information code in protein synthesis and the mechanism of information transfer from DNA to the site of synthesis. Major attention was devoted to cellular mechanisms governing the rates of enzyme ac- tivity and enzyme synthesis. While most of the research presented dealt with microorganisms, the significance of these efforts for questions of normal and ab- normal growth and development in multicellular forms is quite apparent. -
Balcomk41251.Pdf (558.9Kb)
Copyright by Karen Suzanne Balcom 2005 The Dissertation Committee for Karen Suzanne Balcom Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Discovery and Information Use Patterns of Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine Committee: E. Glynn Harmon, Supervisor Julie Hallmark Billie Grace Herring James D. Legler Brooke E. Sheldon Discovery and Information Use Patterns of Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine by Karen Suzanne Balcom, B.A., M.L.S. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August, 2005 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my first teachers: my father, George Sheldon Balcom, who passed away before this task was begun, and to my mother, Marian Dyer Balcom, who passed away before it was completed. I also dedicate it to my dissertation committee members: Drs. Billie Grace Herring, Brooke Sheldon, Julie Hallmark and to my supervisor, Dr. Glynn Harmon. They were all teachers, mentors, and friends who lifted me up when I was down. Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my committee: Julie Hallmark, Billie Grace Herring, Jim Legler, M.D., Brooke E. Sheldon, and Glynn Harmon for their encouragement, patience and support during the nine years that this investigation was a work in progress. I could not have had a better committee. They are my enduring friends and I hope I prove worthy of the faith they have always showed in me. I am grateful to Dr. -
Active Efflux of Tetracycline Encoded by Four Genetically Different
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 77, No. 7, pp. 3974-3977, July 1980 Biochemistry Active efflux of tetracycline encoded by four genetically different tetracycline resistance determinants in Escherichia coli (everted membrane vesicles/tetracycline transport/transposon TnlO/plasmids) LAURA MCMURRY, RICHARD E. PETRUCCI, JR., AND STUART B. LEVY* Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111 Communicated by Boris Magasanik, April 21, 1980 ABSTRACT Tetracycline resistance encoded by four ge- at least partly reversed by energy inhibitors (11), which sug- netically different determinants residing on plasmids in Esch- gested that energy was required for the lowered tetracycline erichia coli was shown to be associated in each case with an accumulation. Using everted membrane vesicles, we now energy-dependent decrease in accumulation of the antibiotic containing any one of four ge- in whole cells in which resistance had been induced. The dif- demonstrate that resistant cells ferent class determinants examined were those on plasmids RP1 netically different plasmid-borne tetracycline resistance de- (class A), R222 (class B), R144 (class C), and RAI (class D). This terminants (5) possess an active efflux system for this antibi- decrease in accumulation was attributable to an active efflux, otic. because everted (inside-out) membrane vesicles made from tetracycline-induced E. coli cells containing any one of the four MATERIALS AND METHODS plasmids were shown to concentrate tetracycline by an active Bacterial Strains and Plasmids. The prototroph E. coli strain influx. This active uptake was not seen in inside-out vesicles from P. D. from sensitive cells or uninduced R222-containing cells. -
Jewish Nobel Prize Laureates
Jewish Nobel Prize Laureates In December 1902, the first Nobel Prize was awarded in Stockholm to Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of X-rays. Alfred Nobel (1833-96), a Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite, had bequeathed a $9 million endowment to fund significant cash prizes ($40,000 in 1901, about $1 million today) to those individuals who had made the most important contributions in five domains (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace); the sixth, in "Economic Sciences," was added in 1969. Nobel could hardly have imagined the almost mythic status that would accrue to the laureates. From the start "The Prize" became one of the most sought-after awards in the world, and eventually the yardstick against which other prizes and recognition were to be measured. Certainly the roster of Nobel laureates includes many of the most famous names of the 20th century: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, Albert Camus, Boris Pasternak, Albert Schweitzer, the Dalai Lama and many others. Nobel Prizes have been awarded to approximately 850 laureates of whom at least 177 of them are/were Jewish although Jews comprise less than 0.2% of the world's population. In the 20th century, Jews, more than any other minority, ethnic or cultural, have been recipients of the Nobel Prize. How to account for Jewish proficiency at winning Nobel’s? It's certainly not because Jews do the judging. All but one of the Nobel’s are awarded by Swedish institutions (the Peace Prize by Norway). The standard answer is that the premium placed on study and scholarship in Jewish culture inclines Jews toward more education, which in turn makes a higher proportion of them "Nobel-eligible" than in the larger population.