Harvey Lodish
Encyclopedia
Harvey F. Lodish is a molecular
and cell biologist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, United States
, and textbook author. Lodish's research focuses on cell surface proteins and other important areas at the interface between molecular cell biology and medicine.
His research group was the first to clone and sequence mRNAs encoding a mammalian glucose transport protein, GLUT1, and then GLUT2 and the insulin- responsive GLUT4, an anion exchange protein, a transporter for free fatty acids, the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptors, intestinal sucrose-isomaltase, the erythropoietin receptor, two subunits of the TGFß receptor, and several adipocyte- specific proteins including adiponectin (formerly Acrp30). These have been used to define the structure, biosynthesis, and cellular functions of these and related proteins and to identify and characterize related genes that encode proteins with important physiological functions.
Current efforts of his group focus on:
1) Erythropoiesis – activation of and signal transduction by the erythropoietin receptor in erythroid progenitor cells, and the regulation of transcription, apoptosis, cell division, and enucleation during erythropoiesis.
2) Hematopoietic stem cells – characterizing new marker cell surface proteins and new growth factors for their expansion in culture
3) The functions of adiponectin, a new adipocyte- produced hormone that potently enhances glucose and fatty acid metabolism by muscle, and a family of adiponectin homologs.
4) Elucidating the roles of microRNAs in regulating hematopoiesis and fat and muscle cell development and metabolism
Dr. Lodish has served on advisory panels for the U.S. National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation and the American Cancer Society. He was Chair of the advisory board of the Division of Basic Sciences of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and of the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. He has served on the advisory boards of several other institutions, including the Biozentrum of the University of Basle, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, the Center for Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH) in Germany, the Life Sciences Institute of the University of Michigan, and the PEW Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences. Currently he serves on the Visiting Committees of the California Institute of Technology Division of Biology and of the Engineering Division of the University of California Santa Barbara.
From 1989 through 2007 Dr. Lodish was a member of the Board of Trustees of Kenyon College, and currently is an Emeritus Trustee.
Dr. Lodish is a member of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Hospital, Boston, where he also is Chair of the Research Committee of the Board of Trustees. He is also Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the group charged with oversight of the state’s 10- year $1 billion investment in the life sciences.
Dr. Lodish is the lead author of the textbook Molecular Cell Biology. The sixth edition was published in 2007 and the book has been translated into ten languages. The seventh edition will appear in 2012.
During the 2004 calendar year Dr. Lodish served as President of the American Society for Cell Biology.
Dr. Lodish was a founder and scientific advisory board member of Genzyme, Inc., Arris Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Allozyne, Inc. He has served on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Eisai Research Institute in Massachusetts and on the Scientific Advisory Board of Astra and then AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. He has testified as an expert witness in several high- profile biotechnology patent trials in Federal Court, notably Amgen vs. TKT Aventis in 2000 and Amgen vs. Roche in 2007.
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
and cell biologist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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...
(MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and textbook author. Lodish's research focuses on cell surface proteins and other important areas at the interface between molecular cell biology and medicine.
Research
Initially, his work focused on translational control of protein synthesis and on development of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Beginning in 1973, his laboratory has concentrated on the biogenesis, structure, and function of several important secreted and plasma membrane glycoproteins. He defined the biosynthesis and maturation of the vesicular stomatitis virus and other plasma membrane glycoproteins, identified the intracellular organelles that mediate recycling of the asialoglycoprotein and transferrin receptors, and clarified the role of pH changes in delivery of iron to cells and recycling of the transferrin receptor. His group has elucidated steps in folding and oligomerization of several proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum, showed that exit of newly made proteins from this organelle requires that they be properly folded, and developed probes for measurement of the redox state within the endoplasmic reticulum.His research group was the first to clone and sequence mRNAs encoding a mammalian glucose transport protein, GLUT1, and then GLUT2 and the insulin- responsive GLUT4, an anion exchange protein, a transporter for free fatty acids, the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptors, intestinal sucrose-isomaltase, the erythropoietin receptor, two subunits of the TGFß receptor, and several adipocyte- specific proteins including adiponectin (formerly Acrp30). These have been used to define the structure, biosynthesis, and cellular functions of these and related proteins and to identify and characterize related genes that encode proteins with important physiological functions.
Current efforts of his group focus on:
1) Erythropoiesis – activation of and signal transduction by the erythropoietin receptor in erythroid progenitor cells, and the regulation of transcription, apoptosis, cell division, and enucleation during erythropoiesis.
2) Hematopoietic stem cells – characterizing new marker cell surface proteins and new growth factors for their expansion in culture
3) The functions of adiponectin, a new adipocyte- produced hormone that potently enhances glucose and fatty acid metabolism by muscle, and a family of adiponectin homologs.
4) Elucidating the roles of microRNAs in regulating hematopoiesis and fat and muscle cell development and metabolism
Biography
Dr. Lodish received his A.B. degree Summa Cum Laude and with Highest Honors in Chemistry and Mathematics, from Kenyon College in 1962, and his Ph.D. degree in genetics with Dr. Norton Zinder from the Rockefeller University in 1966. Following two years of postdoctoral research at the M.R.C. Laboratory of Molecular Biology with Drs. Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick, he joined the faculty of the MIT Department of Biology. He was promoted to Professor in 1976, and in 1983 was appointed Founding Member of the new Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. In 1999 he also became Professor of Bioengineering in the new MIT Department of Bioengineering.Dr. Lodish has served on advisory panels for the U.S. National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation and the American Cancer Society. He was Chair of the advisory board of the Division of Basic Sciences of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and of the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. He has served on the advisory boards of several other institutions, including the Biozentrum of the University of Basle, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, the Center for Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH) in Germany, the Life Sciences Institute of the University of Michigan, and the PEW Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences. Currently he serves on the Visiting Committees of the California Institute of Technology Division of Biology and of the Engineering Division of the University of California Santa Barbara.
From 1989 through 2007 Dr. Lodish was a member of the Board of Trustees of Kenyon College, and currently is an Emeritus Trustee.
Dr. Lodish is a member of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Hospital, Boston, where he also is Chair of the Research Committee of the Board of Trustees. He is also Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the group charged with oversight of the state’s 10- year $1 billion investment in the life sciences.
Dr. Lodish is the lead author of the textbook Molecular Cell Biology. The sixth edition was published in 2007 and the book has been translated into ten languages. The seventh edition will appear in 2012.
During the 2004 calendar year Dr. Lodish served as President of the American Society for Cell Biology.
Dr. Lodish was a founder and scientific advisory board member of Genzyme, Inc., Arris Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Allozyne, Inc. He has served on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Eisai Research Institute in Massachusetts and on the Scientific Advisory Board of Astra and then AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. He has testified as an expert witness in several high- profile biotechnology patent trials in Federal Court, notably Amgen vs. TKT Aventis in 2000 and Amgen vs. Roche in 2007.