| 1 | Name: | Dr. Bruce Alberts | |
| Institution: | University of California, San Francisco | ||
| Year Elected: | 1994 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 202. Cellular and Developmental Biology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1938 | ||
Bruce Alberts is a molecular biologist of extraordinary breadth. His rigorous studies of the replication of the genome of a bacterial virus led to the concept of a complex "protein machine" that carries out the sequential steps of DNA replication. Along the way, he discovered novel proteins that unwind, stabilize or relax DNA as they participate in the replication process. Dr. Alberts is one of the principal authors of The Molecular Biology of the Cell, considered the field's leading advanced textbook and used widely in U.S. colleges and universities. Born in Chicago, he graduated from Harvard College with a degree in biochemical sciences and earned a doctorate from Harvard University in 1965. He joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1966 and after 10 years moved to the Medical School of the University of California, San Francisco, where he is now professor emeritus. He was awarded an American Cancer Society Lifetime Research Professorship in 1980. He served as president of the National Academy of Sciences from 1993 to 2005. Dr. Alberts has been a leader in efforts to improve science education in public schools and has guided policy studies as chairman of the Commission on Life Sciences of the National Research Council. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Science. In 2010 he was named winner of the George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation, in 2014 he was awarded the National Medal of Science, and in 2016 he was recognized by the Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science. | |||