Michael Ashburner
Encyclopedia
Michael Ashburner FRS (born 23 May 1942) is a biologist and emeritus
Professor in the Department of Genetics at University of Cambridge
. He is also the former joint-head of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI)
of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
.
Born in Sussex, England, Ashburner attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from 1953 to 1960. He received his Bachelor of Arts
in Natural Sciences Tripos
(Genetics) in 1964, his PhD
from the Department of Genetics in 1968, and was awarded a Doctor of Science
in 1978, all from Cambridge.
Ashburner was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1993. He received the Gregor Mendel
Medal from the Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic in 1998, the George W. Beadle Medal of the Genetics Society of America in 1999, the Genetics Society Medal of the UK Genetics Society in 2005 and the Franklin Award of the Bioinformatics Organization
in 2006.
Committees he has served on include the European Drosophila Stock Centre, Sweden, Board of Management 1978-1995. He also played an important role on the National Institutes of Health
Oversight Committee, Drosophila Stock Centre in Indiana 1989.
. Ashburner's career began in the early period of molecular biology prior to the development of most of the techniques in use today, as recombinant DNA
, Northern/Southern/Western blotting. Nevertheless, by observing patterns of "puffing" in polytene chromosomes, he established the existence of a cascade of genetic controls in the post-larval development triggered by ecdysone
. The Ashburner model, of 1974, became a paradigm for metazoan gene regulation inasmuch as the Jacob
-Monod
model did for prokaryotes.
Ashburner was an early pioneer in the application of computers to biology. His contributions include his active participation in setting up FlyBase
and the development of Open Biomedical Ontologies
to allow machine-searchable annotation of biological information, particularly the Gene Ontology
and ChEBI
. He was also a member of the consortium that eventually sequenced and annotated the melanogaster
genome. A prolonged effort by his laboratory to characterise the Adh
region became invaluable for validating annotation strategies when large-scale genome information became available.
In Cambridge, Michael Ashburner and his colleagues have received funding on numerous occasions for their studies on Drosophila genomics and the development of a primer set to amplify fragments of genomic DNA highly desirable for chromatin
IP, DNA binding and transcriptional profiling studies.
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
Professor in the Department of Genetics at University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He is also the former joint-head of the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI)
European Bioinformatics Institute
The European Bioinformatics Institute is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics, and is part of European Molecular Biology Laboratory...
of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory is a molecular biology research institution supported by 20 European countries and Australia as associate member state. EMBL was created in 1974 and is an intergovernmental organisation funded by public research money from its member states...
.
Born in Sussex, England, Ashburner attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from 1953 to 1960. He received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Natural Sciences Tripos
Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
The Natural Sciences Tripos is one of the several courses which form the University of Cambridge system of undergraduate teaching...
(Genetics) in 1964, his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the Department of Genetics in 1968, and was awarded a Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
in 1978, all from Cambridge.
Ashburner was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1993. He received the Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance...
Medal from the Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic in 1998, the George W. Beadle Medal of the Genetics Society of America in 1999, the Genetics Society Medal of the UK Genetics Society in 2005 and the Franklin Award of the Bioinformatics Organization
Benjamin Franklin Award (Bioinformatics)
The Benjamin Franklin Award is an award for Open Access in the Life Sciences presented by the Bioinformatics Organization-Laureates:*2002 - Michael B. Eisen*2003 - Jim Kent*2004 - Lincoln D. Stein*2005 - Ewan Birney*2006 - Michael Ashburner...
in 2006.
Committees he has served on include the European Drosophila Stock Centre, Sweden, Board of Management 1978-1995. He also played an important role on 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...
Oversight Committee, Drosophila Stock Centre in Indiana 1989.
Research on Drosophila
Most of Ashburner's research has been on the model organism Drosophila melanogasterDrosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
. Ashburner's career began in the early period of molecular biology prior to the development of most of the techniques in use today, as recombinant DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
, Northern/Southern/Western blotting. Nevertheless, by observing patterns of "puffing" in polytene chromosomes, he established the existence of a cascade of genetic controls in the post-larval development triggered by ecdysone
Ecdysone
Ecdysone is a steroidal prohormone of the major insect molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone, which is secreted from the prothoracic glands. Insect molting hormones are generally called ecdysteroids. Ecdysteroids act as moulting hormones of arthropods but also occur in other related phyla where they...
. The Ashburner model, of 1974, became a paradigm for metazoan gene regulation inasmuch as the Jacob
François Jacob
François Jacob is a French biologist who, together with Jacques Monod, originated the idea that control of enzyme levels in all cells occurs through feedback on transcription. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Jacques Monod and André Lwoff.-Childhood and education:François Jacob is...
-Monod
Jacques Monod
Jacques Lucien Monod was a French biologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1965, sharing it with François Jacob and Andre Lwoff "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis"...
model did for prokaryotes.
Ashburner was an early pioneer in the application of computers to biology. His contributions include his active participation in setting up FlyBase
FlyBase
FlyBase is an online bioinformatics database and the primary repository of genetic and molecular data for the insect family Drosophilidae. For the most extensively studied species and model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, a wide range of data are presented in different formats...
and the development of Open Biomedical Ontologies
Open Biomedical Ontologies
Open Biomedical Ontologies is an effort to create controlled vocabularies for shared use across different biological and medical domains. As of 2006, OBO forms part of the resources of the U.S...
to allow machine-searchable annotation of biological information, particularly the Gene Ontology
Gene Ontology
The Gene Ontology, or GO, is a major bioinformatics initiative to unify the representation of gene and gene product attributes across all species...
and ChEBI
ChEBI
Chemical Entities of Biological Interest, also known as ChEBI, is a database and ontology of molecular entities focused on 'small' chemical compounds, that is part of the Open Biomedical Ontologies effort...
. He was also a member of the consortium that eventually sequenced and annotated the melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
genome. A prolonged effort by his laboratory to characterise the Adh
Alcohol dehydrogenase
Alcohol dehydrogenases are a group of dehydrogenase enzymes that occur in many organisms and facilitate the interconversion between alcohols and aldehydes or ketones with the reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide...
region became invaluable for validating annotation strategies when large-scale genome information became available.
In Cambridge, Michael Ashburner and his colleagues have received funding on numerous occasions for their studies on Drosophila genomics and the development of a primer set to amplify fragments of genomic DNA highly desirable for chromatin
Chromatin
Chromatin is the combination of DNA and proteins that make up the contents of the nucleus of a cell. The primary functions of chromatin are; to package DNA into a smaller volume to fit in the cell, to strengthen the DNA to allow mitosis and meiosis and prevent DNA damage, and to control gene...
IP, DNA binding and transcriptional profiling studies.
External links
- Michael Ashburner publications in PubMedPubMedPubMed 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...
- Michael Ashburner profile on BiomedExpertsBiomedExpertsBiomedExperts is a publication-based scientific social network that allows researchers to collaborate virtually, in order to increase biomedical research. It involves more than 3,500 institutions in more than 190 countries.-External links:*...