Ernst Freese

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Ernst Freese
Born(1925-09-27)September 27, 1925
DiedMarch 30, 1990(1990-03-30) (aged 64)
Alma materUniversity of Göttingen
Known forMolecular biology research
SpouseElisabeth Bautz
Children

Dr. Ernst Freese (September 27, 1925 - March 30, 1990) was a molecular biologist who worked on the mechanism of

mutations in DNA. From 1962 until his death he was Chief of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). Ernst Freese's scientific career started in theoretical particle physics and later moved to molecular biology where he contributed to early genetics research.

Education and academic career

Ernst Freese began his career as a student of physics with

University of Wisconsin as an associate professor of genetics in 1959 and established the university's first molecular biology program. In 1962 he moved to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as Chief of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He held this position until his death.[1] The other laboratory chiefs included Marshall Warren Nirenberg and Daniel Carleton Gajdusek
. Freese was also the Director of the Basic Neurosciences Program at NINDS from 1987.

Contributions to molecular biology

Freese was interested in the molecular mechanism of mutations and determined the difference between spontaneous and chemical mutations by using T4 phage. In 1959 he coined the terms "transitions" and "transversions" to categorize different types of point mutations.[2][3] Point mutations, often caused by chemicals or malfunction of DNA replication, exchange a single nucleotide for another. Most common is the transition that exchanges a purine for a purine (A ↔ G) or a pyrimidine for a pyrimidine, (C ↔ T).

Freese's research also included microbial differentiation and molecular neurobiology. He studied the effect of lipophilic acids on the growth and differentiation of bacteria. Freese's laboratory worked on the metabolic control of sporulation and germination of Bacillus subtilis bacteria. He identified the key metabolite for ignition of sporulation: a decrease of GTP. Freese was cofounder of the

Humboldt Prize
in 1983.

Personal life

After meeting her at Caltech, Freese married his fellow postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Elisabeth Bautz, in 1956, and together they had two children, Katherine Freese[7] and Andrew Freese. After the death of Elisabeth, he married Katherine Bick, Ph.D. in 1985, who was the deputy director of Extramural Research for the National Institutes of Health.

References

  1. ^ "Ernst Freese, 64, Dies; A Molecular Biologist". The New York Times. April 4, 1990.
  2. PMID 16590424
    .
  3. doi:10.1016/S0022-2836(59)80038-3
    .
  4. ^ Ernst Freese, ed. (1972). The Prospects of Gene Therapy. National Institutes of Health.
  5. Penguin Press
    . p. 101.
  6. PMID 2163003
    .
  7. ^ Curriculum Vitae of Katherine Freese
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