Edward M. De Robertis
Encyclopedia
Edward Michael De Robertis is an embryologist whose work has contributed to the discovery of conserved molecular mechanisms of embryonic inductions that cause tissue differentiations during animal development.
, on June 6, 1947, while his father was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. He was raised in Uruguay since age three, where he completed M.D. studies by age 24. This was followed by a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Leloir Institute
in Buenos Aires
, Argentina.
His postdoctoral training was in Cambridge, England, with Sir John Gurdon
. Following three years as staff member at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in 1980 De Robertis was appointed full Professor at the University of Basel
, Switzerland.
De Robertis has been the Norman Sprague Jr. Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles since 1985, where he also is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1994.
In 1984 De Robertis, together with the laboratory of his colleague Walter Gehring, isolated the first vertebrate development-controlling gene, now called Hox-C6. Hox genes determine anterior (head) to posterior (tail) differentiation. The discovery that Hox genes were conserved between vertebrates and fruit flies marked the beginning of the young scientific discipline of Evolution and Development, Evo-Devo.
In the 1990s De Robertis' research laboratory carried out the systematic dissection of the molecular mechanisms that mediate embryonic induction. In 1924 Hans Spemann
and Hilde Mangold
identified a region of the amphibian embryo that was able to induce the formation of Siamese twins after transplantation. De Robertis isolated genes expressed in this region, starting with a homeobox gene called Goosecoid. Together with his colleagues, he discovered Chordin
, a protein secreted by dorsal cells that binds Bone Morphogenetic Protein
BMP) growth factors facilitating their transport to the ventral side of the embryo, where Chordin is digested by a protease
called Tolloid, so that BMPs can signal again. This flow of growth factors determines dorsal (back) to ventral (belly) cell and tissue differentiations in many bilateral animals, such as fruit flies, spiders, early chordates and mammals. The Chordin/BMP/Tolloid biochemical pathway is regulated by feedback inhibitors and cross-talk with other signaling pathways.
De Robertis has been active in international scientific affairs. He served as president of the International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB) from 2002 to 2006. During this period, ISDB sponsored the formation of the Latin American Society of Developmental Biology and the Asian-Pacific Network of Developmental Biologists. He has also served on the scientific board of the Pew Charitable Trusts Latin American Fellows program for almost two decades. Recently, De Robertis was appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Benedict XVI.
In summary, Eddy De Robertis has been a pioneer in the remarkable current realization that the development of all animals is regulated by an ancestral genetic took-kit. This use of conserved gene networks during embryonic development has channeled the outcomes of evolution by Natural Selection arising from Urbilateria, the last common ancestor of vertebrates and invertebrates.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
UCLA Biological Chemistry
Interview with Current Biology
Pope Appoints Cancer Researcher to Prestigious Scientific Academy
Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Biography
Edward De Robertis (a.k.a. Eddy) was born in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, on June 6, 1947, while his father was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT. He was raised in Uruguay since age three, where he completed M.D. studies by age 24. This was followed by a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Leloir Institute
Leloir Institute
The Leloir Institute is a non-profit research center in Buenos Aires specializing in biotechnology, including biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular biology, and related activities.-Overview:...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina.
His postdoctoral training was in Cambridge, England, with Sir John Gurdon
John Gurdon
Sir John Bertrand Gurdon , FRS is a British developmental biologist. He is best known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning. He was recently awarded the Lasker Award.-Career:...
. Following three years as staff member at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in 1980 De Robertis was appointed full Professor at the University of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
, Switzerland.
De Robertis has been the Norman Sprague Jr. Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles since 1985, where he also is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1994.
Scientific Activity
De Robertis carried out his postdoctoral training (1974–1977) with Sir John Gurdon, the distinguished developmental biologist, at the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom. By transplanting Xenopus kidney cell nuclei into oocytes of a different amphibian species, they demonstrated that nuclear reprogramming of protein-coding genes was caused by oocyte cytoplasm. In 1978 he became staff scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, working on the nucleo-cytoplasmic transport of macromolecules.In 1984 De Robertis, together with the laboratory of his colleague Walter Gehring, isolated the first vertebrate development-controlling gene, now called Hox-C6. Hox genes determine anterior (head) to posterior (tail) differentiation. The discovery that Hox genes were conserved between vertebrates and fruit flies marked the beginning of the young scientific discipline of Evolution and Development, Evo-Devo.
In the 1990s De Robertis' research laboratory carried out the systematic dissection of the molecular mechanisms that mediate embryonic induction. In 1924 Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann
Hans Spemann was a German embryologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935 for his discovery of the effect now known as embryonic induction, an influence, exercised by various parts of the embryo, that directs the development of groups of cells into particular tissues...
and Hilde Mangold
Hilde Mangold
Hilde Mangold was a German embryologist who was best known for her thesis dissertation performed at the Zoological Institute in Freiburg, Germany under the direction of Hans Spemann...
identified a region of the amphibian embryo that was able to induce the formation of Siamese twins after transplantation. De Robertis isolated genes expressed in this region, starting with a homeobox gene called Goosecoid. Together with his colleagues, he discovered Chordin
Chordin
Chordin is a polypeptide that dorsalizes the developing embryo by binding ventralizing TGFβ proteins such as bone morphogenetic proteins. It may also play a role in organogenesis. There are five named isoforms of this protein that are produced by alternative splicing.In humans, the chordin peptide...
, a protein secreted by dorsal cells that binds Bone Morphogenetic Protein
Bone morphogenetic protein
Bone morphogenetic proteins are a group of growth factors also known as cytokines and as metabologens . Originally discovered by their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage, BMPs are now considered to constitute a group of pivotal morphogenetic signals, orchestrating tissue...
BMP) growth factors facilitating their transport to the ventral side of the embryo, where Chordin is digested by a protease
Protease
A protease is any enzyme that conducts proteolysis, that is, begins protein catabolism by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain forming the protein....
called Tolloid, so that BMPs can signal again. This flow of growth factors determines dorsal (back) to ventral (belly) cell and tissue differentiations in many bilateral animals, such as fruit flies, spiders, early chordates and mammals. The Chordin/BMP/Tolloid biochemical pathway is regulated by feedback inhibitors and cross-talk with other signaling pathways.
De Robertis has been active in international scientific affairs. He served as president of the International Society of Developmental Biologists (ISDB) from 2002 to 2006. During this period, ISDB sponsored the formation of the Latin American Society of Developmental Biology and the Asian-Pacific Network of Developmental Biologists. He has also served on the scientific board of the Pew Charitable Trusts Latin American Fellows program for almost two decades. Recently, De Robertis was appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Benedict XVI.
In summary, Eddy De Robertis has been a pioneer in the remarkable current realization that the development of all animals is regulated by an ancestral genetic took-kit. This use of conserved gene networks during embryonic development has channeled the outcomes of evolution by Natural Selection arising from Urbilateria, the last common ancestor of vertebrates and invertebrates.
Honors and Awards
- Academician, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Vatican, 2009.
- Ross Harrison Prize in Developmental Biology, 2009.
- Membre Honoré, Societé de Biologie, Paris, France, 2008.
- Corresponding Member, Latin American Academy of Sciences, 2002.
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000.
- Public lecture series and Medal of the Collège de France, Paris, 1997.
- Member, European Molecular Biology Organization, 1982.
- Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund postdoctoral fellow, 1976-1977.
- Gold Medal to the best medical student in 1971, School of Medicine, Uruguay.
- Member, Iberoamerican Molecular Biology Organization.
External links
De Robertis Laboratory Home PageHoward Hughes Medical Institute
UCLA Biological Chemistry
Interview with Current Biology
Pope Appoints Cancer Researcher to Prestigious Scientific Academy
Pontifical Academy of Sciences