| 1 | Name: | Dr. Julius Adler | |
| Institution: | University of Wisconsin, Madison | ||
| Year Elected: | 1989 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 209. Neurobiology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1930 | ||
Born in Germany in 1930, Julius Adler received his A.B. from Harvard University in 1952 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin with Henry Lardy in 1957. Subsequently he did postdoctoral studies with Arthur Kornberg at Washington University (1957-59) and with Dale Kaiser at Stanford University (1959-60). In 1960 he became assistant professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin. He became professor of biochemistry and genetics in 1966 and Edwin Bret Hart Professor in 1972 and is presently emeritus professor of biochemistry and genetics at Wisconsin. Dr. Adler is known for discovering the mechanism of bacterial chemotaxis, the swimming of Escherichia coli towards higher concentration of some compounds and away from others. He discovered its chemoreceptors, which are methylatable proteins. Dr. Adler and his students studied the structure of the bacterial flagellum and its basal body and found the membrane potential to be the source of energy for motility. He and his group discovered the proteins that mediate between the receptors and the flagella by isolating mutants lacking each of them. Dr. Adler has continued to study the basis for response to conflicting stimuli and is presently conducting research on sensory reception and decision making in Drosophila fruit flies. Adler is the recipient of the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology from the National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Otto Warburg Medal by the German Society for Biological Chemistry in 1986. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. | |||