Richard Losick is an American molecular biologist

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 whose research interests include RNA polymerase

RNA polymerase

RNA polymerase is an enzyme that produces RNA. In cells, RNAP is needed for constructing RNA chains from DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription. RNA polymerase enzymes are essential to life and are found in all organisms and many viruses...

, sigma factor

Sigma factor

A sigma factor is a bacterial transcription initiation factor that enables specific binding of RNA polymerase to gene promoters. Different sigma factors are activated in response to different environmental conditions...

s, regulation of gene transcription, and bacterial development, being especially noted for his investigations of endospore

Endospore

An endospore is a dormant, tough, and temporarily non-reproductive structure produced by certain bacteria from the Firmicute phylum. The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form , but it is not a true spore . It is a stripped-down, dormant form to which the bacterium can reduce...

 formation in Gram positive organisms such as Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis, known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium commonly found in soil. A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and has the ability to form a tough, protective endospore, allowing the organism to tolerate...

. Richard Losick is the Maria Moors Cabot Professor of Biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

 at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, and a director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a non-profit group founded in 1999 and focused on civil liberties in academia in the United States...

.

He was the 2007 recipient of the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology

Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology

The Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of excellence in the field of microbiology." Named after Selman Waksman, it was first awarded in 1968....

 from the National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

.

External links

• Research Summary & Profile, Harvard University
• Biography of Richard M. Losick on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute site