William A. Haseltine

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William A. Haseltine, 2017

William A. Haseltine (born October 17, 1944 in St. Louis ) is an American geneticist , molecular biologist and entrepreneur who was involved in the Human Genome Project .

Life

Haseltine, the son of the physicist William R. Haseltine, studied at the University of California, Berkeley , with a bachelor's degree in 1966 and received his doctorate in 1973 from Harvard University . He was a post-doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where he worked on RNA retroviruses with David Baltimore . From 1976 to 1993 he was a professor at the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute at Harvard Medical School (HMS), at HMS and at the Harvard School of Public Health.

At the HMS he worked with Robert Gallo on human retroviruses that cause leukemia in the late 1970s. 1982 he was one of the first to adopt a retrovirus for AIDS , advocated increased research funding on AIDS at an early stage, and has been himself since Active in AIDS research in the 1980s. Among other things, he was involved in the sequencing of the genome of the AIDS virus at Harvard and in the development of protease inhibitors against AIDS.

He is the founder (1992) and until 2004 CEO of the company Human Genome Science (HGSI) in Rockville (Maryland) , which sequences the human genome and holds patents on various human genomes, such as the receptor ( CCR5 ) with which the HI -Virus docks on the human immune system cells. Initially, he worked with Craig Venter (who ran the non-profit division of TIGR while Haseltine ran the for-profit side of the company that was supposed to commercialize the sequenced genes), but in 1997 they parted ways due to personal differences. While the company was a pioneer in the (controversial) area of ​​gene patenting, Haseltine was unsuccessful in its goal of also developing drugs from the data obtained through sequencing, which was one reason why Haseltine withdrew from HGSI in 2004.

He was also involved in, or was founded by, over seven other biotech companies (first in 1981), advising venture capital firms and pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. He holds over 50 patents and wrote over 250 scientific publications.

Haseltine is also active as a philanthropist and president of his own foundation (Haseltine Foundation for Medical Sciences and the Arts) with which he promotes medical care in developing countries (especially India).

In addition to medical genetic engineering, he is also involved in green genetic engineering and regenerative energies.

He is currently Adjunct Professor at the Scripps Institute for Medical Research and the Institute for Chemical Engineering at the University of Mumbai . He serves on the governing committee of the Berkeley Center for Synthetic Biology, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory , the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Asia Society, and he serves on the Council of Foreign Relations .

He lives in Washington DC and New York City.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The in military research in the Mojave Desert worked
  2. ↑ Assistant Professor, from 1979 Associate Professor, from 1988 Professor
personal data
SURNAME Haseltine, William A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American geneticist, molecular biologist, and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis