Keith R. Porter

Keith Roberts Porter
Keith Roberts Porter
Born	June 11, 1912; Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	May 2, 1997 (aged 84); Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	Canadian, American
Occupation	Cell biologist

Keith Roberts Porter (June 11, 1912 – May 2, 1997) was a

microtrabecular lattice." In collaborations with other scientists, he contributed to the understanding of cellular structures and concepts such as compartmentalization, flagella, centrioles, fibrin, collagen, T-tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum. He also introduced microtome

cutting.

Early life and education

Keith Porter was born in

The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research

in New York. He eventually became a citizen of the United States in 1947.

Career/research

In 1939, Porter was a research assistant at The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research under James B. Murphy, a cancer researcher. Porter focused his early work in Murphy's lab on the effect of carcinogens on

ultramicrotome section of specific tissue thickness to allow the electron microscope to penetrate these cells.^[3] By 1956, he became a professor and full member at the Rockefeller University

.

From 1961 to 1967, Porter returned to Harvard University and was chair of the biology department (1965–1967). Porter's research at Harvard concerned the sarcoplasmic reticulum and T system; he conducted this work in collaboration with Clara Franzini-Amstrong. He then explored the role of microtubules in motility, cell division, and control of cell shape with Lewis Tilney, J. Richard McIntosh, and Ursula Goodenough-Johnson.^[4]

In 1968, Porter left to work as chair of the new Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Porter spearheaded a laboratory dedicated to a higher voltage (1000 kV) electron microscope that improved the ability to examine the interior of cells by virtue of its high penetrating power.^[5] When he retired, at age 70, the university awarded him an honorary degree and renamed "his" building Porter Biosciences.

Porter became a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1984 before joining Lee D. Peachey’s laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, post-retirement. UMBC's Keith R. Porter Core Imaging Facility is dedicated to Porter.

Porter helped found the American Society for Cell Biology and the Journal of Cell Biology. The Keith R. Porter Endowment for Cell Biology, founded in 1981, supports an annual Keith R. Porter Lecture at the conference of American Society for Cell Biology.

Recognition

In 1970, together with

George E. Palade were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1974 "for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells", work that Porter is also well known for.^[6] Although Porter is known by many as "The Father of Cell Biology," he never officially won a Nobel Prize

for his achievements and contributions to science.

Awards and honors

1957 elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[7]
1964
Gairdner Foundation International Award
1964 elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences^[8]
1970 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia University
1971
Dickson Prize in Science
1971 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
1976 National Medal of Science
1977 elected to the American Philosophical Society^[9]
1981
E. B. Wilson Medal

References

^ Schliwa, M. (1997). Keith roberts porter (1912-97). Nature, 387(6635), 764.
^ Peachey, L. D. (2006). Keith roberts porter. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 150(4), 685.
^ ^a ^b ^c Satir, P. (1997). Keith R. porter and the first electron micrograph of a cell. Endeavour, 21(4), 169-171.
^ Peachey, L. D. (2013). Keith R. porter. National Academy of Sciences, 1-21.
^ Palade, G. E. (1977). Keith Roberts Porter and the development of contemporary cell biology. The Journal of Cell Biology, 75(1), D1.
^ Westly, Erica (October 6, 2008). "No Nobel for You: Top 10 Nobel Snubs". Scientific American.
^ "Keith Roberts Porter". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
^ "Keith R. Porter". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-07-19.