| 1 | Name: | Dr. Russell F. Doolittle | |
| Institution: | University of California, San Diego | ||
| Year Elected: | 1992 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 206. Physiology, Biophysics, and Pharmacology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1931 | ||
| Death Date: | October 11, 2019 | ||
Russell Doolittle was a professor of biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. An insightful and articulate scientist, he was an expert on the structure and evolution of proteins. Having worked out the covalent structure of fibrinogen and its role in blood clot formation, he became interested in the molecular evolution of this protein and contributed to the molecular analysis of its evolution as well as those of other proteins. Drawing on his personal computerized file of protein and DNA sequences, Dr. Doolittle discovered the remarkable similarity between the cancer-producing gene of a virus and a normal gene that encodes a growth factor from blood platelets. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Institutes of Health Career Development Award, Dr. Doolittle was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Russell Doolittle died October 11, 2019 in La Jolla, California at the age of 88. | |||