Robert G. Roeder
Encyclopedia
Robert G. Roeder is an American biologist. He is known as a pioneer in eukaryotic transcription
. He is the recipient of the Gairdner Foundation International Award
in 2000 and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
in 2003. He currently serves as Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Biochemical and Molecular Biology at The Rockefeller University
.
and his M.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1969 from the University of Washington
, Seattle, where he worked with William J. Rutter
. He did postdoctoral work with Donald D. Brown at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, in Baltimore, from 1969 to 1971. He was a member of the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine
in St. Louis from 1971 to 1982, when he joined The Rockefeller University
. In 1985, he was named Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor. He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences
in 1988 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1995, and a foreign associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization
in 2003.
), Robert B. Darnell
(Rockefeller University
and HHMI), Beverly M. Emerson (Salk Institute for Biological Studies
), Michael R. Green (University of Massachusetts Medical School
and HHMI), Wei Gu (Columbia University
), Nathaniel Heintz (Rockefeller University
and HHMI), Andrew B. Lassar (Harvard Medical School
), Carl S. Parker (California Institute of Technology
), Ron Prywes (Columbia University
), Danny Reinberg (New York University School of Medicine
and HHMI), Hazel L. Sive (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and Whitehead Institute
) and Jerry Workman (Stowers Institute for Medical Research).
Eukaryotic transcription
Eukaryotic transcription is more complex than prokaryotic transcription. For instance, in eukaryotes the genetic material , and therefore transcription, is primarily localized to the nucleus, where it is separated from the cytoplasm by the nuclear membrane...
. He is the recipient of the Gairdner Foundation International Award
Gairdner Foundation International Award
The Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...
in 2000 and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
in 2003. He currently serves as Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Biochemical and Molecular Biology at The Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
.
Biography
Roeder was born in Boonville, Indiana, USA in 1942. He received his B.A. summa cum laude in chemistry from Wabash CollegeWabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
and his M.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1969 from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, Seattle, where he worked with William J. Rutter
William J. Rutter
William J. Rutter is an American biochemist who cofounded the early biotechnology Chiron Corporation together with Edward Penhoet and Pablo DT Valenzuela...
. He did postdoctoral work with Donald D. Brown at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, in Baltimore, from 1969 to 1971. He was a member of the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine , located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the graduate schools of Washington University in St. Louis. One of the top medical schools in the United States, it is currently ranked 4th for research according to U.S. News and World Report and has been listed...
in St. Louis from 1971 to 1982, when he joined The Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
. In 1985, he was named Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor. He was elected as a member of 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...
in 1988 and 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 1995, and a foreign associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization
European Molecular Biology Organization
EMBO stands for excellence in the life sciences. The EMBO mission is to enable the best science by supporting talented researchers, stimulating scientific exchange and advancing policies for a world-class European research environment....
in 2003.
Major Discoveries
- 1969-1977: In 1969, as a graduate student at the University of Washington, Roeder discovers that three enzymes, called RNA polymerases, directly copy DNA in animal cells. As a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, he goes on to show that these enzymes, referred to as Pol I, II and III, recognize and copy distinct classes of genes.
- 1977-1979: Roeder develops cell-free systems to better study transcription. Composed of the purified RNA polymerases and components extracted from cell nuclei, the systems allow researchers to recreate transcription in a test tube in a way that faithfully mimics the real process in cells.
- 1980: The development of cell-free systems leads to the identification of complex sets of proteins called accessory factors that are essential for each individual RNA polymerase (e.g., TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF and TFIIH for Pol II, and TFIIIB and TFIIIC for Pol III) to "read" specific target genes.
- 1980: Roeder identifies the first mammalian gene-specific activator, called TFIIIA. TFIIIA and similar proteins bind to specific DNA sequences and enhance the reading of corresponding target genes. Repressors perform the opposite task by inhibiting a gene's activity.
- 1990s: A decade of research culminates with the discovery of coactivators, large protein complexes that provide a bridge between the activators and repressors and the RNA polymerases and other components of the general transcription machinery.
- 1992: Roeder's laboratory demonstrates that coactivators can be ubiquitous, monitoring many genes in a variety of cells, or specific to one particular cell type. Roeder and colleagues introduce the concept of cell specificity after they demonstrate that the coactivator OCA-B, the first cell-specific coactivator, discovered by Roeder in 1992, is unique to immune system B cells.
- 1996: Roeder's laboratory discovers the major conduit for communication between gene-specific activators and the general transcription machinery in animal cells: a giant coactivator (TRAP/SMCC) that consists of about 25 different protein chains and is referred to as the human mediator after its counterpart in yeast.
- 2002: Roeder and colleagues show that a single component of the mediator is essential for the formation of fat cells — a finding that may one day contribute to new treatments for diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other conditions in which the fat-making process breaks down.
Highly Cited Papers
- 1. Dignam, J. D., Lebovitz, R. M., and Roeder, R. G. Accurate transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II in a soluble extract from isolated mammalian nuclei. Nucleic Acids Res., 11: 1475-1489, 1983. Times Cited: 9,404
- 2. Gu, W. and Roeder, R. G. Activation of p53 sequence-specific DNA binding by acetylation of the p53 C-terminal domain. Cell, 90: 595-606, 1997. Times Cited: 1,184
- 3. Sawadogo, M. and Roeder, R. G. Interaction of a gene-specific transcription factor with the adenovirus major late promoter upstream of the TATA box region. Cell, 43: 165-175, 1985. Times Cited: 1,046
- 4. Dignam, J. D., Martin, P. L., Shastry, B. S., and Roeder, R. G. Eukaryotic gene transcription with purified components. Methods Enzymol., 101: 582-598, 1983. Times Cited: 750
- 5. Roeder, R. G. and Rutter, W. J. Multiple forms of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase in eukaryotic organisms. Nature, 224: 234-237, 1969. Times Cited: 726
Honors and awards
- 1977: American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry - 1986: National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe 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...
Award in Molecular Biology - 1988: Member, National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe 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...
- 1988: Harvey Society Lecturer
- 1990: Honorary Doctor of Science from Wabash CollegeWabash CollegeWabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
- 1992: Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
- 1995: Lewis S. Rosenstiel AwardRosenstiel AwardIn 1971, the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research was established as an expression of the conviction that educational institutions have an important role to play in the encouragement and development of basic science as it applies to medicine.Medals are...
for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science (shared with Robert TjianRobert TjianRobert Tjian is a U.S. biochemist best known for his work on eukaryotic transcription. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute...
) - 1995: Passano Award (shared with Robert TjianRobert TjianRobert Tjian is a U.S. biochemist best known for his work on eukaryotic transcription. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute...
) - 1995: Fellow, American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe 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...
- 1999: Louisa Gross Horwitz PrizeLouisa Gross Horwitz PrizeLouisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers that have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry....
from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(shared with Pierre Chambon and Robert TjianRobert TjianRobert Tjian is a U.S. biochemist best known for his work on eukaryotic transcription. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute...
) - 1999: General Motors Cancer Research Foundation’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize (shared with Robert TjianRobert TjianRobert Tjian is a U.S. biochemist best known for his work on eukaryotic transcription. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute...
) - 2000: Gairdner Foundation International AwardGairdner Foundation International AwardThe Gairdner Foundation International Award is given annually at a special dinner to three to six people for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a precursor to winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine; as of 2007, 69 Nobel...
(shared with Roger D. KornbergRoger D. KornbergRoger David Kornberg is an American biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine.Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006 for his studies of the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA, "the molecular basis of...
) - 2001: Dickson Prize in Medicine from University of PittsburghUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
- 2002: ASBMB-Merck Award (shared with Roger D. KornbergRoger D. KornbergRoger David Kornberg is an American biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine.Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006 for his studies of the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA, "the molecular basis of...
) - 2003: Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchThe Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
- 2003: Foreign Associate Member, European Molecular Biology OrganizationEuropean Molecular Biology OrganizationEMBO stands for excellence in the life sciences. The EMBO mission is to enable the best science by supporting talented researchers, stimulating scientific exchange and advancing policies for a world-class European research environment....
- 2005: Honorary Doctor of Science from Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
- 2010: Salk Institute Medal for Research Excellence
Prominent Alumni of the Roeder Laboratory
The Roeder Laboratory has trained hundreds of students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom hold independent positions in prominent biomedical research institutions, including Richard A. Bernstein (Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
), Robert B. Darnell
Robert B. Darnell
Dr. Robert Darnell is currently the Heilbrunn Cancer Professor at the Rockefeller University and a Principal Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.Dr...
(Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
and HHMI), Beverly M. Emerson (Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...
), Michael R. Green (University of Massachusetts Medical School
University of Massachusetts Medical School
The University of Massachusetts Medical School is one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts system and is home to three schools: the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Graduate School of Nursing; a biomedical research enterprise; and a range of...
and HHMI), Wei Gu (Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
), Nathaniel Heintz (Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
and HHMI), Andrew B. Lassar (Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
), Carl S. Parker (California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
), Ron Prywes (Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
), Danny Reinberg (New York University School of Medicine
New York University School of Medicine
The New York University School of Medicine is one of the graduate schools of New York University. Founded in 1841 as the University Medical College, the NYU School of Medicine is one of the foremost medical schools in the United States....
and HHMI), Hazel L. Sive (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and Whitehead Institute
Whitehead Institute
Founded in 1982, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research and teaching institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA....
) and Jerry Workman (Stowers Institute for Medical Research).