George Streisinger
Encyclopedia
George Streisinger was a molecular biologist at the University of Oregon
. He was the first person to clone a vertebrate, cloning zebra fish in his University of Oregon laboratory. He also pioneered work in the genetics of the T-even bacterial viruses. In 1972, along with William Franklin Dove he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
award, and in 1975 he was selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the second Oregonian to receive the distinction. The University of Oregon's Institute of Molecular Biology named their main building "Streisinger Hall" in his honor.
, Hungary
, on December 27, 1927. In 1937, his family left Budapest for New York to escape Nazi persecution. Streisinger attended New York public schools and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science
in 1944. He obtained a B.S. degree from Cornell University
in 1950, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1953. He completed postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology from 1953 to 1956. He married Lotte Sielman in 1949, and they had two children, Lisa and Cory, born in 1954 and 1955. Streisinger accepted a post at the University of Oregon Institute of Molecular Biology in Eugene in 1960.
Streisinger was well known as an innovative professor in and out of the classroom, conscripting a dance class to illustrate protein synthesis, and often requested beginning and non-major biology students. He was very politically active, organizing grass-roots resistance to the Vietnam war and legislative opposition to John Kennedy's civil defense program. He testified to successfully ban mutagenic herbicides in Douglas fir reforestation, and led and won a battle to exclude secret war department research from the University of Oregon campus.
His wife, Lotte, is a noted artist and community activist, and the founder of the Eugene Saturday Market, the inspiration for the Portland Oregon Saturday Market.
Both of his daughters work in politics in Oregon. Lisa Adatto is the Oregon Director of Climate Solutions, a global warming policy group, and Cory Streisinger is the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services for the state of Oregon.
During his postdoc at CalTech, with Jean Weigle
, he undertook further studies on T2 × T4 hybrids, which led to the discovery of DNA modification (by glucosylation).
At the University of Oregon, Streisinger pioneered the study of zebrafish in his lab. Zebrafish can be genetically modified easily, and researchers can modify them to mimic the traits of certain diseases. In analyzing these created diseases, scientists seek solutions to diseases which affect humans. Over 5,000 researchers in 450 labs throughout 31 countries study zebra fish, and many of them received their initial training at the University of Oregon.
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. He was the first person to clone a vertebrate, cloning zebra fish in his University of Oregon laboratory. He also pioneered work in the genetics of the T-even bacterial viruses. In 1972, along with William Franklin Dove he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
award, and in 1975 he was selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the second Oregonian to receive the distinction. The University of Oregon's Institute of Molecular Biology named their main building "Streisinger Hall" in his honor.
Personal History
George Streisinger was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, on December 27, 1927. In 1937, his family left Budapest for New York to escape Nazi persecution. Streisinger attended New York public schools and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science
Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
in 1944. He obtained a B.S. degree from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1950, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1953. He completed postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology from 1953 to 1956. He married Lotte Sielman in 1949, and they had two children, Lisa and Cory, born in 1954 and 1955. Streisinger accepted a post at the University of Oregon Institute of Molecular Biology in Eugene in 1960.
Streisinger was well known as an innovative professor in and out of the classroom, conscripting a dance class to illustrate protein synthesis, and often requested beginning and non-major biology students. He was very politically active, organizing grass-roots resistance to the Vietnam war and legislative opposition to John Kennedy's civil defense program. He testified to successfully ban mutagenic herbicides in Douglas fir reforestation, and led and won a battle to exclude secret war department research from the University of Oregon campus.
His wife, Lotte, is a noted artist and community activist, and the founder of the Eugene Saturday Market, the inspiration for the Portland Oregon Saturday Market.
Both of his daughters work in politics in Oregon. Lisa Adatto is the Oregon Director of Climate Solutions, a global warming policy group, and Cory Streisinger is the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services for the state of Oregon.
Research
Following his graduation from Cornell, George under- took graduate studies in the genetics of T-even coliphage with S. E. Luria in the Bacteriology Department of the University of Illinois. His studies revealed phenotypic mixing, in which a phage with a host-range genotype of one phage type was found in a particle who was phenotypically dissimilar. When published in 1956, these studies had profound impact on the study of viral biology.During his postdoc at CalTech, with Jean Weigle
Jean Weigle
Jean-Jacques Weigle was a Swiss molecular biologist at the CalTech and a former physicist at the University of Geneva from 1931 to 1948. He is known for his major contributions on field of the bacteriophage λ research, focused on the interactions between those viruses and their E...
, he undertook further studies on T2 × T4 hybrids, which led to the discovery of DNA modification (by glucosylation).
At the University of Oregon, Streisinger pioneered the study of zebrafish in his lab. Zebrafish can be genetically modified easily, and researchers can modify them to mimic the traits of certain diseases. In analyzing these created diseases, scientists seek solutions to diseases which affect humans. Over 5,000 researchers in 450 labs throughout 31 countries study zebra fish, and many of them received their initial training at the University of Oregon.