Hamilton O. Smith
Hamilton O. Smith | |
|---|---|
 Smith in 2012 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley, BA Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MD |
| Known for | Restriction enzymes |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics |
| Institutions | Washington University School of Medicine |
Hamilton Othanel Smith (born August 23, 1931) is an American microbiologist and Nobel laureate.[1][2]
Smith graduated from
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but in 1950 transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his B.A. in Mathematics in 1952 [1]. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1956. Between 1956 and 1957 Smith worked for the Washington University in St. Louis Medical Service. In 1975, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship he spent at the University of Zurich
.
In 1970, Smith and Kent W. Wilcox discovered the first type II
methylases that constitute the other half of the bacterial host restriction and modification systems, as hypothesized by Werner Arber of Switzerland.[1]
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978 for discovering type II restriction enzymes with Werner Arber and Daniel Nathans as co-recipients.
He later became a leading figure in the nascent field of
Celera Genomics
, which he joined when it was founded in 1998.
More recently, he has directed a team at the
Synthetic Genomics, which was founded in 2005 by Craig Venter to continue this work. Synthetic Genomics is working to produce biofuels on an industrial-scale using recombinant algae and other microorganisms.[5]
References
This article incorporates CC-BY-2.5 text from the reference[1]
- ^ PMID 22253610.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Raju, T. N. (1999). "The Nobel Chronicles". S2CID 53257399.
- Shampo, M. A.; Kyle, R. A. (1995). "Hamilton Smith--Nobel Prize winner in medicine or physiology". PMID 7776712.
- Berg, K. (1978). "The Nobel prize in physiology and medicine 1978. Nobel prize to a controversial research field". Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening. 98 (34–36): 1741–1742. PMID 725894.
- "Molecular genetics takes Nobel Prize". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 240 (20). PMID 359842.
- "Brazil learns its ecological lessons–the hard way". S2CID 4221192.
- Raju, T. N. (1999). "The Nobel Chronicles".
- PMID 5312500.
- PMID 1330118.
- ^ "Craig Venter Has Algae Biofuel in Synthetic Genomics' Pipeline - Xconomy". Xconomy. 4 June 2009.
Further reading
- Lagerkvist, U (October 1978). "To split a gene". PMID 279742.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hamilton Othanel Smith.
- Hamilton O. Smith on Nobelprize.org
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