Walter Fiers

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Walter Charles Cornelius Fiers (born January 31, 1931 in Ypres ; † July 28, 2019 ) was a Belgian molecular biologist . He was a pioneer in the sequencing of genomes and in recombinant DNA technology and conducted research on flu vaccines .

Life

Walter Fiers studied chemical engineering and agricultural engineering at the University of Ghent (graduated in 1954). He then carried out research on enzymes with Laurent Vandendriessche in Ghent and in 1956/57 with Heinz Holter in Copenhagen . In 1960 he went on a Rockefeller Fellowship to Robert Sinsheimer at Caltech in Pasadena , USA , where he worked on phage research. He then worked for Gobind Khorana at the University of Wisconsin – Madison . In 1962 he returned to Belgium and founded the Molecular Biology Laboratory at Ghent University. In 1997 he retired as a professor and a year later as head of the laboratory, but continued his research as an emeritus.

Act

Fiers was the first researcher who completely sequenced a gene (1972, in bacteriophage MS 2) and sequenced a complete virus genome (also in MS 2, consisting of four genes) (1976). In 1978 he and his group sequenced the genome of the monkey virus SV 40 .

In the early 1980s he was one of the pioneers of recombinant DNA technology . Around 1980 he and colleagues cloned the genes for interferon beta (like Tadatsugu Taniguchi in Japan at the same time ) and later for interleukin 2, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor . In medical applications, he worked with Biogen (which led to the first clinical tests with interferon gamma).

In the 1990s he was researching vaccines against influenza viruses. They are based on the M2 virus protein, which occurs in all human influenza viruses and thus offers the chance of a "universal" vaccine that is effective against many strains of flu.

From 1989 he was a full member of the Academia Europaea . In 1999 he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Prizes and awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Walter Fiers, founder of VIB and pioneer of biotechnology in Flanders, passed away. Retrieved August 1, 2019 .
  2. ^ W Min Jou, G. Haegeman, M. Ysebaert, W. Fiers: Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the bacteriophage MS2 coat protein. In: Nature. Volume 237, 1972, pp. 82-88.
  3. ↑ W. Fiers, R. Contreras, F. Duerinck, G. Haegeman, D. Iserentant, J. Merregaert, W. Min Jou, F. Molemans, A. Raeymaekers, A. Van den Berghe, G. Volckaert, M. Ysebaert: Complete nucleotide sequence of bacteriophage MS2-RNA - primary and secondary structure of replicase gene. In: Nature. 260, 1976, pp. 500-507.
  4. ↑ W. Fiers, R. Contreras, G. Haegemann, R. Rogiers, A. Van de Voorde, H. Van Heuverswyn, J. Van Herreweghe, G. Volckaert, M. Ysebaert: Complete nucleotide sequence of SV40 DNA. In: Nature. Volume 273, 1978, pp. 113-120.
  5. ^ S. Neirynck, T. Deroo, X. Saelens, P. Vanlandschoot, WM Jou, W. Fiers: A universal influenza A vaccine based on the extracellular domain of the M2 protein. In: Nature Med. October 5, 1999, pp. 1157-1163.
  6. ^ W. Fiers, S. Neirynck, T. Deroo, X. Saelens, WM Jou: Soluble recombinant influenza vaccines. In: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. Volume 356, 2001, pp. 1961-1963.
  7. ^ W Fiers, M. De Filette, A. Birkett, S. Neirynck, W. Min Jou: A universal human influenza A vaccine. In: Virus Res. Volume 103, 2004, pp. 173-176.
  8. ↑ M. De Filette, W. Min Jou, A. Birkett, K. Lyons, B. Schultz, A. Tonkyro, S. Resch, W. Fiers: universal influenza A vaccine: optimization of M2-based constructs. In: Virology. Volume 337, 2005, pp. 149-161.
  9. ↑ M. De Filette, A. Ramne, A. Birkett, N. Lycke, B. Löwenadler, W. Min Jou, X. Saelens, W. Fiers: The universal influenza vaccine M2e-HBc administered intranasally in combination with the adjuvant CTA1 -DD ​​provides complete protection. In: Vaccine. Volume 24, 2006, pp. 544-551.
  10. ↑ Alexander Hellemans: Can This Man Beat the Flu with a Single Universal Vaccine? Walter Fiers found a protein segment on the influenza virus that could lead to a universal flu vaccine, which would end seasonal shots and provide pandemic protection. Hellemans in Scientific American 2008 on Fiers and his approach to a universal flu vaccine, interview with Fiers
  11. ^ Membership directory: Walter Fiers. Academia Europaea, accessed on August 18, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter F. (PDF; 815 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved August 18, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Fiers, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fiers, Walter Charles Cornelius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian molecular biologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 31, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Ypres
DATE OF DEATH 28th July 2019