David J. Lipman
Encyclopedia
David J. Lipman is an American biologist
who since 1989 has been the Director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National Institutes of Health
. NCBI is the home of GenBank
, the U.S. node of the International Sequence Database Consortium, and PubMed
, one of the most heavily used sites in the world for the search and retrieval of biomedical information. Lipman is one of the original authors of the BLAST
sequence alignment program, and a respected figure in bioinformatics
.
and his M.D. in 1980 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also leads an intramural research program, including groups led by Stephen Altschul
(another BLAST co-author), David Landsman, Eugene Koonin
(a prolific author on comparative genomics
), and L. Aravind. Lipman has an Erdős number
of 3.
He is most well known for his work on a series of sequence similarity algorithm, starting from the Wilbur-Lipman algorithm in 1983, FASTA
search search in 1985, BLAST
in 1990, and Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST in 1997.
He also works with Dennis A. Benson et. al. at NCBI also contributes to the maintain and improvement of GenBank
and annually publishes a paper on their progress. The improvements include specification of data format, curation of data, integration of protein information with DNA sequences and scientific literature.
He was one of the originators of the Influenza Genome Sequencing Project
, a project to sequence and make available the genomes of thousands of influenza virus isolates.
He is also the Editor-in-Chief for an open access, peer-reviewed online journal Biology Direct
.
Award for outstanding contributions to Biomolecular Technologies in 1996.
In 2004, He was awarded the Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award
from the International Society for Computational Biology.
In 2005, Dr. Lipman was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
who since 1989 has been the Director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Center for Biotechnology Information
The National Center for Biotechnology Information is part of the United States National Library of Medicine , a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The NCBI is located in Bethesda, Maryland and was founded in 1988 through legislation sponsored by Senator Claude Pepper...
(NCBI) at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. NCBI is the home of GenBank
GenBank
The GenBank sequence database is an open access, annotated collection of all publicly available nucleotide sequences and their protein translations. This database is produced and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information as part of the International Nucleotide Sequence...
, the U.S. node of the International Sequence Database Consortium, and PubMed
PubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
, one of the most heavily used sites in the world for the search and retrieval of biomedical information. Lipman is one of the original authors of the BLAST
BLAST
In bioinformatics, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, or BLAST, is an algorithm for comparing primary biological sequence information, such as the amino-acid sequences of different proteins or the nucleotides of DNA sequences...
sequence alignment program, and a respected figure in bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
.
Scientific Career
Dr. Lipman received his undergraduate degree from Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and his M.D. in 1980 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also leads an intramural research program, including groups led by Stephen Altschul
Stephen Altschul
For the former MTV news/current CBS news correspondent, see Serena Altschul.Stephen Frank Altschul is an American mathematician who has designed algorithms that are widely used in the field of bioinformatics . Most notably, Altschul is the co-author of the BLAST algorithm used for sequence...
(another BLAST co-author), David Landsman, Eugene Koonin
Eugene Koonin
Eugene V. Koonin is a Senior Investigator at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA...
(a prolific author on comparative genomics
Comparative genomics
Comparative genomics is the study of the relationship of genome structure and function across different biological species or strains. Comparative genomics is an attempt to take advantage of the information provided by the signatures of selection to understand the function and evolutionary...
), and L. Aravind. Lipman has an Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 3.
He is most well known for his work on a series of sequence similarity algorithm, starting from the Wilbur-Lipman algorithm in 1983, FASTA
FASTA
FASTA is a DNA and protein sequence alignment software package first described by David J. Lipman and William R. Pearson in 1985. Its legacy is the FASTA format which is now ubiquitous in bioinformatics.- History :...
search search in 1985, BLAST
BLAST
In bioinformatics, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, or BLAST, is an algorithm for comparing primary biological sequence information, such as the amino-acid sequences of different proteins or the nucleotides of DNA sequences...
in 1990, and Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST in 1997.
He also works with Dennis A. Benson et. al. at NCBI also contributes to the maintain and improvement of GenBank
GenBank
The GenBank sequence database is an open access, annotated collection of all publicly available nucleotide sequences and their protein translations. This database is produced and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information as part of the International Nucleotide Sequence...
and annually publishes a paper on their progress. The improvements include specification of data format, curation of data, integration of protein information with DNA sequences and scientific literature.
He was one of the originators of the Influenza Genome Sequencing Project
Influenza Genome Sequencing Project
The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is an American-based genome project aimed at improving the availability of genomic sequence data from influenza viruses and related information....
, a project to sequence and make available the genomes of thousands of influenza virus isolates.
He is also the Editor-in-Chief for an open access, peer-reviewed online journal Biology Direct
Biology Direct
Biology Direct is an online open access scientific journal that publishes original, peer-reviewed research papers and hypotheses in biology. The journal is published by BioMed Central....
.
Awards and honors
Dr. Lipman received the Association of Biomolecular Resource FacilitiesAssociation of Biomolecular Resource Facilities
The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities is dedicated to advancing core and research biotechnology laboratories through research, communication, and education...
Award for outstanding contributions to Biomolecular Technologies in 1996.
In 2004, He was awarded the Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award
Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award
The Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award is an annual prize awarded by the International Society for Computational Biology for contributions to the field of computational biology.-Laureates:*2011 - Michael Ashburner*2010 - *2009 - Webb Miller...
from the International Society for Computational Biology.
In 2005, Dr. Lipman was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.