Subdivision
| • | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | [X] |
| | 1 | Name: | Dr. Robert Heinz Abeles | | | Institution: | Brandeis University | | | Year Elected: | 1999 | | | Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | | | Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | | | Residency: | Resident | | | Living? : |
Deceased
| | | Birth Date: | 1926 | | | Death Date: | June 18, 2000 | | | | |
| 2 | Name: | Dr. Paul Schimmel | | | Institution: | The Scripps Research Institute | | | Year Elected: | 1999 | | | Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | | | Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | | | Residency: | Resident | | | Living? : |
Living
| | | Birth Date: | 1940 | | | | | | |
Paul Schimmel is the Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor of Molecular Biology and Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. He received his Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and remained on the faculty of MIT until 1997. Dr. Schimmel is the recipient of the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry from the American Chemical Society and is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Schimmel has contributed extensively to the understanding of the protein-RNA interactions that are the basis of the universal genetic code. He showed how features in small RNA structures are interpreted as specific amino acids referred to by some as a "second genetic code." Most recently he established how RNA structure plays an essential role in enhancing the accuracy of the genetic code by an error correction mechanism. Also, in other work, Nature magazine cited his development of "expressed sequence tags" as one of the four key developments that launched the human genome project. Author or co-author of 400 scientific papers and of a widely used three-volume textbook on biophysical chemistry, Dr. Schimmel has also applied basic biomedical research to human health. For example, his laboratory discovered human proteins active in blood vessel formation, developed them, and brought them to clinical medicine. He holds several patents and is cofounder or founding director of ten biotechnology companies, of which 5 are publicly traded. These companies are developing new therapies for human disease. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1999. | |
| 3 | Name: | Dr. Bernhard Witkop | | | Institution: | National Institutes of Health | | | Year Elected: | 1999 | | | Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | | | Subdivision: | 201. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry | | | Residency: | Resident | | | Living? : |
Deceased
| | | Birth Date: | 1917 | | | Death Date: | November 22, 2010 | | | | | | |
Bernhard Witkop was a distinguished organic chemist who had made major contributions to biochemistry, pharmacology, and medical sciences. His research involved major contributions to the chemistry of familiar-sounding substances or processes, such as the isolation from the Colombian tree frog of the toxin batrachotoxin, a godsend to electrophysiologists. He made important contributions to research on antiviral agents, interferon, dopamine, genetically engineered proteins and metabolic pathways. His cyanogen bromide cleavage reaction made possible the production of the first 100 Kg of engineered insulin by Eli Lilly. In Dr. Witkop's paper "Mind Over Matter" he assumes "the uneasy role of the scientist as philosopher" and presents a scholarly and profound contribution on this topic so central to most philosophers. Later in his life Dr. Witkop dedicated efforts to historical biography. He worked at the National Institutes of Health since 1987, where he is Scholar Emeritus. A native of Germany, Dr. Witkop held Ph.D. (1940) and Sc.D. (1946) degrees from the University of Munich. | |
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