John Heuser
Encyclopedia
John E. Heuser is a Professor of Biophysics
in the department of Cell Biology
and Physiology
at the Washington University School of Medicine
as well as a Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Matieral Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University
. Heuser created quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy, a pioneering technique that lets biologists take detailed pictures of fleeting events inside living cells
. For decades, Heuser has used this technique to capture details of the molecular mechanisms that underlie many basic biological activities, including nerve cell signal transmission, muscle contraction
, and most recently, the fusion of viruses with cells during the spread of infection
. He compares quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy to using a stroboscopic flash to freeze the action in a photograph
. To make it possible to image the frozen sample with an electron microscope, Heuser adds an ultra-thin film of metallic platinum
that molds snugly against the sample's frozen surface contours. He and others in his lab have worked to make the equipment and procedures necessary for this process available to researchers around the world. Currently Heuser has patents pending on Washington University's behalf for even more advanced versions of his quick-freezing machines. Heuser graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School
in 1969 and joined the Washington University faculty as a professor of biophysics
in 1980. He is currently associate editor of the Journal of Neurocytology and previously served as associate editor of the Journal of Cell Biology. His curriculum vitae lists over 200 scientific publications. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
class of 2005 and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in 2007. Heuser was also elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences
in 2011.
Heuser explains what is done in his laboratory:
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
in the department of Cell Biology
Cell biology
Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...
and Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
at the Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine , located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the graduate schools of Washington University in St. Louis. One of the top medical schools in the United States, it is currently ranked 4th for research according to U.S. News and World Report and has been listed...
as well as a Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Matieral Sciences (iCeMS) at Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
. Heuser created quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy, a pioneering technique that lets biologists take detailed pictures of fleeting events inside living cells
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
. For decades, Heuser has used this technique to capture details of the molecular mechanisms that underlie many basic biological activities, including nerve cell signal transmission, muscle contraction
Muscle contraction
Muscle fiber generates tension through the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten, or remain the same...
, and most recently, the fusion of viruses with cells during the spread of infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
. He compares quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy to using a stroboscopic flash to freeze the action in a photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
. To make it possible to image the frozen sample with an electron microscope, Heuser adds an ultra-thin film of metallic platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
that molds snugly against the sample's frozen surface contours. He and others in his lab have worked to make the equipment and procedures necessary for this process available to researchers around the world. Currently Heuser has patents pending on Washington University's behalf for even more advanced versions of his quick-freezing machines. Heuser graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
in 1969 and joined the Washington University faculty as a professor of biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
in 1980. He is currently associate editor of the Journal of Neurocytology and previously served as associate editor of the Journal of Cell Biology. His curriculum vitae lists over 200 scientific publications. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The 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...
class of 2005 and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in 2007. Heuser was also elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The 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...
in 2011.
Current Research
- Freeze-etch electron microscopy as applied to cell and molecular biology
- The structural basis of neuronal synaptic transmission
Heuser explains what is done in his laboratory:
"Electron microscopic visualization of everything from whole cells to individual molecules is the work of this laboratory. Special emphasis is given to developing new methods of sample preparation that will achieve a more natural, life-like appearance of samples in the microscope. To accomplish this, we have developed what is now called the "quick-freeze, deep-etch" technique for electron microscopy and have disseminated the equipment and procedures needed to carry out this technique throughout the field. Currently, we use "quick-freezing" to capture several different cellular processes that are unusually fleeting, including membrane budding and fusion, synaptic vesicle discharge during neural transmission, movement of cilia and flagella on vertebrateVertebrateVertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
and protozoal cells, and muscle contraction. In each case, our aim has been to visualize the underlying molecular mechanisms occurring. We also use "deep-etching" to visualize molecules adsorbed to inert substrates in order to study mechanisms of macromolecular assembly and disassembly in various processes, including remodeling of cytoskeletons, clathrinClathrinClathrin is a protein that plays a major role in the formation of coated vesicles. Clathrin was first isolated and named by Barbara Pearse in 1975. It forms a triskelion shape composed of three clathrin heavy chains and three light chains. When the triskelia interact they form a polyhedral lattice...
-mediated endocytosisEndocytosisEndocytosis is a process by which cells absorb molecules by engulfing them. It is used by all cells of the body because most substances important to them are large polar molecules that cannot pass through the hydrophobic plasma or cell membrane...
, cell-to-cell recognition, and the formation of extracellular matrices."
Experience
- 1963–1967 Undergraduate apprentice in J. David Robertson's Electron Microscopy Lab, Harvard Medical School and the McLean HospitalMcLean HospitalMcLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research...
, Belmont, MA - 1969–1974 USPHS Fellow and Moseley Travelling Fellow of Harvard University, as Postdoctoral trainee in the Biophysics Unit of University College, London, under Sir Bernard Katz and Ricardo Miledi
- 1970–1972 USPHS Military service in Laboratory of NeuropathologyNeuropathologyNeuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole autopsy brains. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery...
and Neuroanatomical Sciences, NINCDS, Bethesda, MD with Dr. Thomas S. Reese - 1974–1980 Assistant, Associate, and then Full Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, San Francisco, CA - 1980– Professor of Biophysics, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Professional Activities
- Associate Editor of the Journal of Cell Biology (past)
- Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurocytology (current)
- Service to editorial boards of: Journal of Neurophysiology, Brain Research, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Journal of Neuroscience Methods, GastroenterologyGastroenterologyGastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...
, CellCell (journal)Cell is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research papers across a broad range of disciplines within the life sciences. Areas covered include molecular biology, cell biology, systems biology, stem cells, developmental biology, genetics and genomics, proteomics, cancer research,...
, Anatomical Record, Journal of Molecular BiologyJournal of Molecular BiologyThe Journal of Molecular Biology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published weekly by Elsevier. It covers original scientific research concerning studies of organisms or their components at the molecular level.- Notable articles :... - Ad Hoc reviewer for NINCDS, NCRR, and National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Education
- 1964, B.A., cum laude, Harvard CollegeHarvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
- 1969, M.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
- 1970–1973, Graduate studies in Biophysics, University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
Teaching Activities
- 1980–1990 Lecturer (with Ursula GoodenoughUrsula GoodenoughUrsula W. Goodenough is a Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the best selling book Sacred Depths of Nature...
) in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and Neurobiology - 1980–1995 Lecturer in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and Neurobiology
- 1974–1980 Lecturer in UCSF graduate and medical school courses: Cell Biology and Neurobiology
- 1974–1995 Director of graduate course: Neuroanatomical Methods
- 1975–1998 Instructor, Summer Neurobiology course, Marine Biological LaboratoryMarine Biological LaboratoryThe Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
, Woods Hole, MA