John Abelson
John Norman Abelson | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 19, 1938 Grand Coulee, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Molecular biologist, biophysicist, biochemist, geneticist |
| Years active | 1968–2002 (academic), ongoing (scientific collaboration) |
| Known for | RNA splicing research; co-founder of Agouron Institute and Agouron Pharmaceuticals |
| Notable work | Research on RNA splicing mechanisms; development of HIV drug Viracept |
John Norman Abelson (born October 19, 1938, in Grand Coulee, Washington) is a distinguished American molecular biologist with expertise spanning biophysics, biochemistry, and genetics. He held a professorship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Biography
Abelson obtained his undergraduate degree in physics from Washington State University in 1960, followed by a doctorate in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1965. He pursued postdoctoral research in biochemistry at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, collaborating with Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick. Their work focused on nonsense suppressors in E.coli, utilizing genetic methodologies and RNA sequencing approaches pioneered by Fred Sanger.
His academic career commenced in 1968 as a chemistry professor at the University of California, San Diego.
In 1978, Abelson co-established the Agouron Institute alongside Mel Simon. This non-profit organization was created to promote pioneering biological investigations. Abelson has been serving as its president and executive director.
By 1984, the institute had secured significant funding through the establishment of Agouron Pharmaceuticals, a commercial enterprise launched six years later. This company was instrumental in developing Viracept, a prominent medication for HIV treatment. In 1999, Warner Lambert purchased Agouron Pharmaceuticals for $2.1 billion; subsequently, Pfizer acquired Warner Lambert in 2000. To date, the institute has invested more than $60 million into research areas including structural biology, geobiology, and microbial ecology.
Abelson was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the period 1980–1981. He joined Caltech’s faculty in 1982, eventually leading the biology division and receiving the title George Beadle Professor of Biology in 1991. After retiring in 2002, he relocated to San Francisco where he continues scientific collaboration with his wife, Christine Guthrie, an RNA biochemist and geneticist affiliated with UCSF.
His research significantly contributed to uncovering mechanisms of RNA splicing, identifying enzymes responsible for processing RNA precursors and elucidating how RNA segments are spliced into mature molecules—advancing knowledge of genomic transcription and intron-related RNA processing.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Abelson was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985. He became a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2001. Currently, he serves as editor for the scientific publication series Methods in Enzymology.
See also
Note
His uncle, Philip Abelson, served as longtime editor of Science, while his aunt, Neva Martin Abelson, co-invented the blood test for the Rh factor.
References
External links
- 1938 births
- Living people
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- 20th-century American biochemists
- American geneticists
- Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- People from Grant County, Washington
- California Institute of Technology faculty
- University of California, San Diego faculty
- Washington State University alumni
- Johns Hopkins University alumni
- Members of the American Philosophical Society