| 1 | Name: | Dr. Eric M. Shooter | |
| Institution: | Stanford University School of Medicine | ||
| Year Elected: | 2002 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 208. Plant Sciences | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1924 | ||
| Death Date: | March 21, 2018 | ||
Eric M. Shooter received a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in 1950. He worked at the Stanford University School of Medicine starting in 1968, serving as professor of genetics and professor of biochemistry (1968-75), chairman of the neurosciences Ph.D. program (1972-82) and chairman of neurobiology (1975-87). Dr. Shooter was known for his research on the isolation, characterization, and mechanism of action of nerve growth factor (NGF) and his identification and study of the gene responsible for the major inherited disease of the human peripheral nervous system, Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) 1A disease. He was the first to show that NGF and the neurotrophins mediate their actions through two distinct receptors and how these receptors cooperate in these processes, as well as identifying key genes, induced by NGF, that are important regulators of axonal growth. Dr. Shooter showed that the gene mediating CMT1A disease codes for a new myelin protein, PMP22, and that demyelination of peripheral nerves occurs because mutations in, or duplications of, this gene lead to aberrant trafficking of PMP22 in the Schwann cell. His discovery of this gene has led to the identification of other myelin genes involved in CMT diseases and laid the groundwork for understanding both the genetic basis of these diseases and their underlying mechanisms. Dr. Shooter received the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award in 1992, the Ralph W. Gerard Prize of the Society for Neuroscience in 1995, and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience Research in 1997. He was a member of the Royal Society of London and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2002. Eric M. Shooter died March 21, 2018 at the age of 93. | |||