Lubert Stryer
Encyclopedia
Lubert Stryer is the Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, Emeritus at the Stanford University School of Medicine
. He was a Helen Hay Whitney
Research Fellow from 1961 to 1964 before initiating his own research program at Stanford. Following a move to Yale
in 1969, he returned to Stanford in September 1976 as the Winzer Professor and is a Professor of Neurobiology (at Stanford) since September 1993. Dr. Stryer received his B.S. from the University of Chicago
and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School
.
techniques for studying biomolecules and cells.
His laboratory's major interest is in the molecular basis of signal transduction
by retina
l rod cell
s using biochemical, biophysical, molecular genetic and electrophysicological approaches to elucidate the molecular basis of visual excitation and adaptation. Current research in his laboratory is focused on the feedback role of calcium
ion in recovery and adaptation. The Stryer group cloned and expressed recoverin
and neurocalcin
, two new calcium-sensors in the retina and brain. A related interest is the molecular mechanism of calcium spiking.
), including several in Science
, Cell
and Nature
.
which is now in its seventh edition (ISBN 0-7167-8724-5). In the latest two editions, Stryer is joined by Jeremy M. Berg
(Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine) and John L. Tymoczko (Carleton College
)
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
. He was a Helen Hay Whitney
Helen Hay Whitney Foundation
The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation is a New York City based charitable foundation which supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences....
Research Fellow from 1961 to 1964 before initiating his own research program at Stanford. Following a move to Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1969, he returned to Stanford in September 1976 as the Winzer Professor and is a Professor of Neurobiology (at Stanford) since September 1993. Dr. Stryer received his B.S. from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and his M.D. 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....
.
Research profile
As part of his research, Dr. Stryer discovered the light-triggered amplification cycle in vision and developed new fluorescenceFluorescence
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...
techniques for studying biomolecules and cells.
His laboratory's major interest is in the molecular basis of signal transduction
Signal transduction
Signal transduction occurs when an extracellular signaling molecule activates a cell surface receptor. In turn, this receptor alters intracellular molecules creating a response...
by retina
Retina
The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
l rod cell
Rod cell
Rod cells, or rods, are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in less intense light than can the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells. Named for their cylindrical shape, rods are concentrated at the outer edges of the retina and are used in peripheral vision. On...
s using biochemical, biophysical, molecular genetic and electrophysicological approaches to elucidate the molecular basis of visual excitation and adaptation. Current research in his laboratory is focused on the feedback role of calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
ion in recovery and adaptation. The Stryer group cloned and expressed recoverin
Recoverin
Recoverin is a 23 kilodalton neuronal calcium-binding protein that is primarily detected in the photoreceptor cells of the eye. It plays a key role in the inhibition of rhodopsin kinase, a molecule which regulates the phosphorylation of rhodopsin...
and neurocalcin
Neurocalcin
Neurocalcin is a neuronal calcium-binding protein that belongs to the neuronal calcium sensor family of proteins. It expressed in mammalian brains. It possesses a Ca2+/myristoyl switch...
, two new calcium-sensors in the retina and brain. A related interest is the molecular mechanism of calcium spiking.
Scientific papers
Lubert Stryer has 130 scientific publications to his credit (according to PubMedPubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
), including several in Science
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
, Cell
Cell (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,...
and Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
.
Biochemistry textbook
Dr. Stryer is the author of Biochemistry, a widely-used textbook published by WH FreemanW. H. Freeman
-History:The company was founded in 1946 by William H. Freeman. He had been a salesman and editor at Macmillan Publishing. Freeman's first published book was General Chemistry by Linus Pauling. Freeman was acquired by Scientific American Inc. in 1964. Holtzbrinck bought Scientific American in...
which is now in its seventh edition (ISBN 0-7167-8724-5). In the latest two editions, Stryer is joined by Jeremy M. Berg
Jeremy M. Berg
Jeremy Mark Berg is the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institute of Health . He was formerly a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Director of the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry and author of several...
(Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
School of Medicine) and John L. Tymoczko (Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
)
Honors
- 2006 National Medal of ScienceNational Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
- Election to the United States 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...
- American Chemical Society Award in Biological Chemistry
- Newcomb-Cleveland Prize
- Distinguished Inventors Award of the Intellectual Property Owners' Association
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Chicago
- Molecular Bioanalytics Award of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Other appointments
- Dr. Stryer also serves as a scientific advisor of AffymetrixAffymetrixAffymetrix is a company that manufactures DNA microarrays; it is based in Santa Clara, California, United States. The company was founded by Dr. Stephen Fodor in 1992. It began as a unit in Affymax N.V...
, Inc. and Perlegen Sciences, Inc. In July 1999, Dr. Stryer took a full-time leave of absence from his professorship at Stanford University to found SenomyxSenomyxSenomyx is an American biotechnology company that works toward developing additives to amplify certain flavors and smells in foods...
and serve as Chairman of its board of directors and Chief Scientific Officer. In May 2001, Dr. Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University and resigned from Senomyx, but continues to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. - He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Marian Koshland Science MuseumMarian Koshland Science MuseumThe Marian Koshland Science Museum of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences features exhibits that present modern science and scientific issues in an accessible way, geared for the general public...
in the Washington DC.
Famous students
- Richard P. Haugland (Ph.D. 1970), founder of Molecular ProbesMolecular ProbesMolecular Probes is a biotechnology company located in Eugene, Oregon specializing in fluorescence. The company was founded in 1975 by Richard and Rosaria Haugland in their kitchen in Minnesota, then moved briefly to Texas and finally to Oregon in the early 1980s. In 1989, Molecular Probes moved...
, Inc. Currently President of the Starfish Country Home School Foundation in Chiang MaiChiang MaiChiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. - Tobias Meyer (postdoc), now Professor, Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University