Paul Zamecnik
Encyclopedia
Paul Charles Zamecnik was an American scientist who played a central role in the early history of molecular biology
. He was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School
and a senior scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital
. Zamecnik pioneered the in vitro
synthesis of proteins and helped elucidate the way cells generate proteins. With Mahlon Hoagland
he co-discovered transfer RNA
(tRNA). Through his later work, he is credited as the inventor of antisense therapeutics. Throughout his career, Zamecnik earned over a dozen US patents for his therapeutic techniques. Up until his death in 2009 he maintained a lab at MGH where he studied the application of synthetic oligonucleotides (antisense hybrids) for chemotherapeutic treatment of drug resistant and XDR tuberculosis in his later years.
. He attend Dartmouth College
, majored in chemistry
and zoology
, and received his AB degree in 1933. He then attended Harvard Medical School
and received his MD degree in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939, he worked at Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland.
During his Lakeside Hospital internship, Zamecnik became interested in how cells regulate growth, and hence, in protein chemistry. He was awarded a Finney-Howell Fellowship and a Moseley Traveling Fellowship to go to the Carlsberg Laboratory
in Copenhagen where he worked with Dr. Kai Linderstrom-Lang. His planned time in Copenhagen was cut short because of World War II
—the Germans occupied Denmark from April 1940—and he and his wife, Mary Connor, returned to Boston where he became an Assistant Physician at the Huntington Memorial Hospital, studying the toxic factors involved in traumatic shock for a wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development
project led by Huntington director Joseph Aub. After a year in New York at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research studying protein synthesis with Max Bergmann
, he returned to Harvard in 1942 to join the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he became Instructor and then Professor of Medicine, where he served until retiring as the Collis P. Huntington Professor of Oncologic Medicine, Emeritus in 1979.
After retiring from Harvard Medical School he continued his research at the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research with his former colleague Dr. Hoagland. When the foundation merged with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1997, Dr. Zamecnik moved his laboratory to MGH, where he continued to work until several weeks before his death.
Paul Zamecnik is generally regarded as the founder of antisense therapy
.
Zamecnik authored or co-authored 210 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He won many distinguished awards, including the National Cancer Society National Award in 1968, National Medal of Science
in 1991, and the first-ever Lasker Lifetime Achievement Award
in 1996. Zamecnik was also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Society of Biological Chemistry, American Association for Cancer Research (President 1964-65), Association of American Physicians, Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and the American Philosophical Society.
Zamecnik married Mary Connor in 1936 (deceased 2005), and together they had 3 children, 7 grand children and 2 great granddaughters.
Zamecnik died on October 27, 2009, at his home in Boston. He was 96 years old.
History of molecular biology
The history of molecular biology begins in the 1930s with the convergence of various, previously distinct biological disciplines: biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and virology...
. He was a professor of medicine at 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....
and a senior scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
. Zamecnik pioneered the in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
synthesis of proteins and helped elucidate the way cells generate proteins. With Mahlon Hoagland
Mahlon Hoagland
Mahlon Bush Hoagland is an American biochemist who discovered transfer RNA , the translator of the genetic code.-Early life:Mahlon Bush Hoagland was born in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. in 1921 to Hudson and Anna Hoagland...
he co-discovered transfer RNA
Transfer RNA
Transfer RNA is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 73 to 93 nucleotides in length, that is used in biology to bridge the three-letter genetic code in messenger RNA with the twenty-letter code of amino acids in proteins. The role of tRNA as an adaptor is best understood by...
(tRNA). Through his later work, he is credited as the inventor of antisense therapeutics. Throughout his career, Zamecnik earned over a dozen US patents for his therapeutic techniques. Up until his death in 2009 he maintained a lab at MGH where he studied the application of synthetic oligonucleotides (antisense hybrids) for chemotherapeutic treatment of drug resistant and XDR tuberculosis in his later years.
Education and research
Paul Zamecnik was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He attend Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, majored in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, and received his AB degree in 1933. He then attended 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....
and received his MD degree in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939, he worked at Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland.
During his Lakeside Hospital internship, Zamecnik became interested in how cells regulate growth, and hence, in protein chemistry. He was awarded a Finney-Howell Fellowship and a Moseley Traveling Fellowship to go to the Carlsberg Laboratory
Carlsberg Laboratory
The Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark was created in 1875 by J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, for the sake of advancing biochemical knowledge, especially relating to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology...
in Copenhagen where he worked with Dr. Kai Linderstrom-Lang. His planned time in Copenhagen was cut short because of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
—the Germans occupied Denmark from April 1940—and he and his wife, Mary Connor, returned to Boston where he became an Assistant Physician at the Huntington Memorial Hospital, studying the toxic factors involved in traumatic shock for a wartime Office of Scientific Research and Development
Office of Scientific Research and Development
The Office of Scientific Research and Development was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. Arrangements were made for its creation during May 1941, and it was created formally by on June 28, 1941...
project led by Huntington director Joseph Aub. After a year in New York at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research studying protein synthesis with Max Bergmann
Max Bergmann
Max Bergmann was a Jewish-German biochemist. He was the first to use the Carboxybenzyl protecting group for the synthesis of oligopeptides.-Life and work:Bergmann was born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany on February 12, 1886....
, he returned to Harvard in 1942 to join the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School where he became Instructor and then Professor of Medicine, where he served until retiring as the Collis P. Huntington Professor of Oncologic Medicine, Emeritus in 1979.
After retiring from Harvard Medical School he continued his research at the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research with his former colleague Dr. Hoagland. When the foundation merged with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1997, Dr. Zamecnik moved his laboratory to MGH, where he continued to work until several weeks before his death.
Paul Zamecnik is generally regarded as the founder of antisense therapy
Antisense therapy
Antisense therapy is a form of treatment for genetic disorders or infections.When the genetic sequence of a particular gene is known to be causative of a particular disease, it is possible to synthesize a strand of nuc acid that will bind to the messenger RNA produced by that gene and inactivate...
.
Zamecnik authored or co-authored 210 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He won many distinguished awards, including the National Cancer Society National Award in 1968, National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The 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...
in 1991, and the first-ever Lasker Lifetime Achievement Award
Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary...
in 1996. Zamecnik was also a member of the U.S. 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...
, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Society of Biological Chemistry, American Association for Cancer Research (President 1964-65), Association of American Physicians, Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and the American Philosophical Society.
Zamecnik married Mary Connor in 1936 (deceased 2005), and together they had 3 children, 7 grand children and 2 great granddaughters.
Zamecnik died on October 27, 2009, at his home in Boston. He was 96 years old.