Paul Zamecnik
Paul Charles Zamecnik (born November 22, 1912 in Cleveland , Ohio , † October 27, 2009 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American biochemist and molecular biologist .
Live and act
Zamecnik earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and zoology from Dartmouth College in 1933 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1936 as a medical degree. As a resident he worked in Pasadena , Cleveland and Boston . As a postdoctoral fellow , Zamecnik worked at the Carlsberg Research Center in Copenhagen and at the Rockefeller Institute in New York City , before teaching at Harvard Medical School from 1942 .
In 1953 Paul Zamecnik developed a cell-free system for protein synthesis , the metabolic pathways of which could be explored with 14 C -labelled amino acids . This paved the way for the discovery that proteins are synthesized from a blueprint in DNA . Zamecnik was also able to show that protein synthesis consumes adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and is not a reverse reaction to proteolysis . Between 1956 and 1979, Zamecnik was a professor at Harvard Medical School and a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1956, together with Mahlon Hoagland and Mary Stephenson , Zamecnik identified tRNA (transfer RNA) for the first time , which controls the selection of the next correct amino acid based on the genetic code . He was also able to show that the process of protein synthesis takes place on the ribosomes .
He developed the idea of using antisense oligonucleotides to block the activity of certain genes - for example from tumors or viruses - and thus the synthesis of pathogenic proteins, and in 1978 he published the method. In 1979 Zamecnik moved to the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research , when he reached the age limit at Harvard University , where successful applications of the antisense method were realized. a. against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 1990 Zamecnik founded the biotechnology company Hybridon . In 1997, the Worchester Foundation merged with the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Zamecnik's laboratory moved to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he worked in research until a few weeks before his death.
Zamecnik was married and had three children.
Awards (selection)
- 1954 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1964–1965 President of the American Association for Cancer Research .
- 1968 member of the National Academy of Sciences
- 1970 Passano Award
- 1991 National Medal of Science
- 1996 Albert Lasker Special Achievement Award
- 2006 member of the American Philosophical Society
literature
- T. Pederson: Obituary: Paul C. Zamecnik (1912-2009). In: Nature . Volume 462, No. 7272, November 2009, p. 423, ISSN 1476-4687 . doi: 10.1038 / 462423a . PMID 19940910
- V. Glaser: Paul C. Zamecnik, Biologist Who Helped Discover an RNA Molecule, Dies at 96. In: New York Times . November 6, 2009.
Web links
- Paul C. Zamecnik, Inventor of the Week at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu); Retrieved April 8, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present (PDF, 60 kB) of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org); Retrieved April 8, 2012
- ↑ passanofoundation.org: The Passano Award 1945 to 2011 ( Word document; accessed October 2, 2012)
- ^ Paul C. Zamecnik at the National Science Foundation (nsf.org); Retrieved April 7, 2012
- ^ Paul Zamecnik at the Lasker Foundation (laskerfoundation.org); Retrieved April 7, 2012
- ↑ Dr. Paul C. Zamecnik at the American Philosophical Society (amphilsoc.org); Retrieved April 8, 2012
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zamecnik, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zamecnik, Paul Charles (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American biochemist and molecular biologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 22, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cleveland , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 27, 2009 |
| Place of death | Boston , Massachusetts |