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2009 Promega Biotechnology Research Award Laureate |
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George M. Church, Ph.D.,
Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School,
and Director, Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, Boston, is honored with the Promega
Biotechnology Research Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the
application of biotechnology through fundamental microbiological research and
development. Described as a “truly
unique” and “extraordinarily creative” scientist, Church’s forward thinking and
wide-range of interests have resulted in numerous new technologies that have
led to major advances in the microbiological sciences.
 Church earned his Ph.D. in
biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University
in 1984 and for three decades, he has been a leader in biotechnology and its
application. The original methods for DNA sequencing were invented in 1977. In
1984, Church proposed, “multiplex sequencing” which was a radical alternative. It
was a manual, highly parallel sequencing method that was more productive than
current methods. This technology, though never industrialized, was used to
sequence the first microbial genome, Helicobacter
pylori and the
archaeal genome, Methanobacterium
theimactotrophicum.
Church’s lab went on to discover
novel methods of DNA sequence analysis including polonies on slides read by
fluorescent mononucleotides and polymerase and polonies on beads read by
fluorescent oligonucleotides and ligase. The commercialization and adoption of
this “polony” concept led to the second generation of sequencing technologies.
It has transformed the way genomes are analyzed. Others are noted for their
contributions, but Church is assigned the central role for his enabling
technology. He has licensed patents on these methods to almost all the current
DNA sequencing instrumentation companies.
The second generation approach was
described in a seminal paper by Church which led, in part, to the foundation of
the field of Synthetic Biology. Clifford
J. Tabin, Ph.D., Professor, Harvard
Medical School
and Church’s nominator writes, “Because of the
methods he developed, DNA constructs up to 100 kpb long are now being made at a
rate of 1 Mbp per month. His lab also developed DNA nanostructures which are
used to provide a highly anisotropic medium to help determine NMR structures of
membrane proteins which are important pharmaceutical targets.”
One of Church’s
supporters, David Botstein, Ph.D., Director, Lewis-Sigler Institute for
Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, and an American Academy of
Microbiology Fellow, credits Church with a leading role in the development of
the field of bioinformatics, specifically, assessments of the patterns of gene
expression inferred from DNA microarrays and the connection with simple
sequence motifs recognized by DNA-binding proteins.
As Tabin notes, “George
Church is a ‘truly unique’ and ‘extraordinarily creative’ scientist. These are adjectives too often overused;
however, they literally and accurately apply to George. His ability to identify key problems before
they are clear to the rest of the field; his ability to bring novel ideas and
original conceptual approaches to practice; and his far-ranging interests have
resulted in a series of new technologies that have led to major advances in
microbiological sciences.”
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 July 2009 08:38 |
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