Jonathan Beckwith

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Jonathan Roger Beckwith (born December 25, 1935 in Cambridge , Massachusetts ) is an American biochemist , microbiologist and geneticist . In 1969 he was the first to succeed in isolating a single gene from a bacterium ( Escherichia coli ). Jon Beckwith's laboratory at the Institute for Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston / USA continued to conduct research on these bacteria, primarily on membrane proteins, including their role in cell division.

Career

After graduating from high school in Newton , Massachusetts, (1953) Jon Beckwith studied chemistry at Harvard University , where he also passed the examination for his doctoral thesis in biochemistry in 1961. With a grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) he came afterwards. a. to Princeton (New Jersey), London , Cambridge (England) and the Pasteur Institute in Paris .

In 1965 Beckwith returned to Harvard, to the Institute of Bacteriology and Immunology at Harvard Medical School, where he quickly rose the academic ladder and was appointed professor in 1969. In 1980 he was awarded the research professorship of the American Cancer Society and in 1984 the membership of the National Academy of Sciences and 1986 of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . He has been a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1985 .

After many other awards and honorary memberships, Jon Beckwith received the 1993 Genetics Society of America Medal . In 2005 he received the Abbott Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Microbiology. In 2009 he received the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology from the National Academy of Sciences. His correct title is: Cancer Society Research Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School .

Scientific and social engagement

Jon Beckwith teaches genetics and conducts research in the field of bacterial genetics , including gene expression , protein biosynthesis and the transport of proteins through cell membranes , as well as the construction of cell membranes and their remodeling during cell division .

Since 1969 he has also been involved in public debates about the social consequences of genetics, for example in the “Science for the People” group and the “Genetic Screening Study Group”. This loose association of Harvard researchers criticizes, among other things, the narrow perspective of many sociobiologists on the genes as well as the tendency of many genetic researchers to genetic determinism , which is shown, for example, in studies on alleged "genes for criminal behavior" or in the claim that men are because of them Genes superior to women in the field of math.

Jon Beckwith is also one of those researchers who deal specifically with the ethical consequences of the Human Genome Project and repeatedly warned of genetic discrimination that could result if information from genetic tests, for example by health insurers, were used to the detriment of the insured.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ American Scientist Online ( Memento June 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ): Short biography
  2. ↑ Fellows of the AAAS: Jonathan Beckwith. (No longer available online.) American Association for the Advancement of Science, archived from the original on February 6, 2018 ; accessed on February 6, 2018 .
  3. ^ Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology. From: nasonline.org , accessed May 19, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Beckwith, Jonathan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beckwith, Jonathan Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American biochemist, microbiologist, and geneticist
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Cambridge, Massachusetts