Barbara J. Meyer
Encyclopedia
Barbara J. Meyer is a biologist, noted for her pioneering research on lambda phage
, a virus that infects bacteria; discovery of the master control gene involved in sex determination; and studies of gene regulation, particularly dosage compensation
.
, working with David Clayton
. She began her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley
and completed it in 1979 at Harvard University
in the lab of Mark Ptashne
, working on gene regulation in lambda phage
-- ultimately publishing thirteen papers as a graduate student.
Meyer then did a postdoc at Cambridge University, in the MRC
, in Sydney Brenner
's lab, switching from bacteria to C. elegans
, a roundworm. Still studying gene regulation, but turning to sex determination, Meyer discovered the master gene involved in sex determination.
Meyer was tenured at M.I.T.
. She accepted a full faculty appointment at the University of California, Berkeley
, in 1990.
Meyer is married to fellow biologist Tom Cline.
Lambda phage
Enterobacteria phage λ is a temperate bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli.Lambda phage is a virus particle consisting of a head, containing double-stranded linear DNA as its genetic material, and a tail that can have tail fibers. The phage particle recognizes and binds to its host, E...
, a virus that infects bacteria; discovery of the master control gene involved in sex determination; and studies of gene regulation, particularly dosage compensation
Dosage compensation
Dosage compensation, also known as Ohno's Hypothesis, is a hypothetical genetic regulatory mechanism which operates to equalize the phenotypic expression of characteristics determined by genes on the X chromosome so that they are equally expressed in the human XY male and the XX female. In 2006,...
.
Biography
Meyer completed her undergraduate BS at Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, working with David Clayton
David Clayton
David George Clayton, born 13 June 1944, is a distinguished British statistician and epidemiologist. He is titular Professor of Biostatistics in the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Trust and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Principal Research Fellow in the Diabetes and Inflammation...
. She began her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and completed it in 1979 at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the lab of Mark Ptashne
Mark Ptashne
Mark Ptashne is a molecular biologist and violinist. He currently holds the Ludwig Chair of Molecular Biology at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York...
, working on gene regulation in lambda phage
Lambda phage
Enterobacteria phage λ is a temperate bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli.Lambda phage is a virus particle consisting of a head, containing double-stranded linear DNA as its genetic material, and a tail that can have tail fibers. The phage particle recognizes and binds to its host, E...
-- ultimately publishing thirteen papers as a graduate student.
Meyer then did a postdoc at Cambridge University, in the MRC
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
, in Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner, CH FRS is a South African biologist and a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H...
's lab, switching from bacteria to C. elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
, a roundworm. Still studying gene regulation, but turning to sex determination, Meyer discovered the master gene involved in sex determination.
Meyer was tenured at M.I.T.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. She accepted a full faculty appointment at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, in 1990.
Meyer is married to fellow biologist Tom Cline.
Notable papers
- Clustered DNA Motifs Mark X Chromosomes for Repression by a Dosage Compensation Complex. [P. McDonel, J. Jans, B. Peterson, B. Meyer (2006) Nature 444, 614-618]
- Sperm Chromatin Proteomics Identifies Evolutionarily Conserved Fertility Factors. [D. Chu, H. Liu, P. Nix, T. Wu, E. Ralston, J. Yates, B. Meyer (2006) Nature 443, 101-105]
- "Vive la difference: males vs females in flies vs worms" (Review article), TW Cline, BJ Meyer - Annu. Rev. Genet, 1996
- Barbara J. Meyer, Dennis G. Kleid, and Mark Ptashne, "Lambda Repressor Turns Off Transcription of Its Own Gene", PNAS, v.72, n.12, pp. 4785-4789 (Dec. 1975).
Awards
- 2000 - Member, National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
- Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
- Elected Member, American Academy of Microbiology