Distinguished Alumni

Paul Greengard
Alumni (1953)

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University
     Greengard's research has focused on events inside the neuron caused by neurotransmitters. Specifically, Greengard and his fellow researchers studied the behavior of second messenger cascades that transform the docking of a neurotransmitter with a receptor into permanent changes in the neuron. In a series of experiments, Greengard and his colleagues showed that when dopamine interacts with a receptor on the cell membrane of a neuron, it causes an increase in cyclic AMP inside the cell. This increase of cyclic AMP, in turn activates a protein called protein kinase A, which turns the function other proteins on or off by adding phosphate groups in a reaction known as phosphorylation. The proteins activated by phosphorylation can then perform a number of changes in the cell: transcribing DNA to make new proteins, moving more receptors to the synapse (and thus increasing the neuron's sensitivity), or moving ion channels to the cell surface (and thus increasing the cell's excitability). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2000 "for showing how neurotransmitters act on the cell and can activate a central molecule known as DARP.

Haldan Keffer Hartline
Professor and First Chair of Biophysics Department (1949-1954)

     Hartline investigated the electrical responses of the retinas of certain arthropods, vertebrates, and mollusks because their visual systems are much simpler than those of humans and are thus easier to study. He concentrated his studies on the eye of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). Using minute electrodes in his experiments, he obtained the first record of the electrical impulses sent by a single optic nerve fibre when the receptors connected to it are stimulated by light. He found that the photoreceptor cells in the eye are interconnected in such a way that when one is stimulated, others nearby are depressed, thus enhancing the contrast in light patterns and sharpening the perception of shapes. Hartline thus built up a detailed understanding of the workings of individual photoreceptors and nerve fibres in the retina, and he showed how simple retinal mechanisms constitute vital steps in the integration of visual information.

     Hartline won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1967. Other awards include the William H. Howell Award (Physiology) in 1927; the Howard Crosby Warren Medal (Society of Experimental Psychologists) in 1948; an Sc. D. (hon.) from Lafayette College, 1959; the Albert A. Michelson Award ( Case Institute of Technology) in 1964; a degree of LL. D. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1969; and an hon. D.Sc. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971; the Lighthouse Award in 1969; hon. M.D. Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1971.

Wayne A. Hendrickson, Ph.D.
Alumni

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
     Wayne Hendrickson's pioneering studies of the anomalous dispersion effect have established this technique as the method of choice for determining protein crystal structures in as rapid and straightforward manner as possible and has made the concept of structural genomics an experimental reality. In addition to his central role in the development of multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) methods, he was also a pioneer in the development of computer programs that are used to build and refine atomic models for proteins on the basis of X-ray diffraction measurements. His contributions to methodology are complemented by his determination of the first structure of a tyrosine kinase and the structure of the HIV protein, gp120, in complex with the CD4 receptor and a neutralizing human antibody.

     Wayne Hendrickson is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is a recipient of several awards including the Alexander Hollaender Award of the National Academy of Sciences, the Christian B. Anfinsen Award of the Protein Society, the Merit Award of the National Institutes of Health, the Academy Medal, New York Academy of Medicine (2003), the Paul Janssen Prize (with M. G. Rossmann), Rutgers University (2004), and the Harvery Prize, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (2004).

Frederick Blattner
Alumni (1968)

Oliver Smithies Professor of Genetics
     Frederick Blattner's research interests include genomics, gene regulation, bacteria, bioinformatics, DNAchips, genome engineering. His lab is interested in the genomics of bacteria. Having sequenced E. coli K-12 they have now turned to large scale functional genomics of E. coli through DNA chip analysis of global gene expression and by phenotypic analysis of conditional knock-out mutations.  They are also interested in hypothesis driven comparative and evolutionary genomics by sequencing strains closely related to K-12. The first strain sequenced for comparison is E. coli 0157:H7, the “hamburger strain.” Future studies include enteropathogenic, enterotoxigenic, enteroaggregative and uropathogenic strains of E. coli, as well E. coli K1, a cause of neonatal sepsis and miningitis.

John Abelson
Alumni (1965)

Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology 
     Abelson was a key figure in the elucidation of RNA splicing. A major area of current interest is the low temperature deposition of metallic, dielectric and semiconducting materials for electronics, including large-area flat panel displays and solar electric cells, and ultra-thin layers for next-generation ULSI circuits. His research focuses on developing an understanding, in atomic-level detail, of the growth processes used for thin films and its relationship with microstructure and properties. He was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1985. Among his awards are IBM Young Investigator in Materials Processing (1988 - 1990), IBM University Partnership Award (1995 - 1997), External Examiner (Fakultetsopponent), University of Linköping, Sweden (1995), Xerox Senior Faculty Award (1996), UIUC Engineering Council Award for Excellence in Advising (1997), and Fellow, American Vacuum Society (2004).

Dr. Eaton E. Lattman
Alumni

Dean of Research and Professor, Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University
      His laboratory is engaged in a variety of projects involving protein crystallographic studies, protein folding, drug design, electrostatics, and protein-RNA interactions.