David Eisenberg

David Eisenberg
Born	March 15, 1939 Chicago, United States
Notable awards	Harvey Prize (Human Health) 2008

David S. Eisenberg (born 15 March 1939) is an American biochemist best known for his contributions to structural and computational molecular biology. A professor at the University of California, Los Angeles since the early 1970s and director of the UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics & Proteomics since the early 1990s, as well as a member of the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA, Eisenberg's current experimental work focuses on the structural biology of amyloidogenic proteins, while his computational efforts largely center on the development of bioinformatic/proteomic methodologies for elucidation and analysis of protein interaction networks. His research group hosts the Database of Interacting Proteins.

Scientific interests and contributions

David Eisenberg coined the term Rubisco. The abbreviation was derived from the full name for Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.

He was the recipient of Harvey Prize (Human Health) 2008 in recognition of his contributions in unfolding the structure of amyloid fibrils. The award was presented to him at a ceremony that took place on March 23, 2009 at the Technion. This recently recognized protein state provides opportunities to understand cells in health and disease. ^[1]

Biographical information

• Formal education and training
  • Harvard University (1961; research with J.T. Edsall)
  • D.Phil, Oxford University (1964; research with Coulson)
  • Postdoctoral research, Princeton University (1964–1966; with Walter Kauzmann)
  • Postdoctoral research, California Institute of Technology (1966–1969; with Richard E. Dickerson)

• Appointments and positions held
  • Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, UCLA, USA (1969-Present)
  • Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA Medical School
  • Director, UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics & Proteomics (1993-Present)
  • Member, California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), UCLA
  • Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001-Present)

• Honors and awards
  • L.J. Henderson Prize (1961)
  • Harvard College Honorary Scholarships (1958-1960)
  • Rhodes Scholarship (1961-1964)
  • USPHS Career Development Award (1972-1977)
  • UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award (1975)
  • McCoy Award of the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for innovative research (1982)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (1989; Biophysics & Computational Biology section)
  • Pierce Award of the Immunotoxin Society (1992)
  • Protein Society Stein & Moore Award (1996)
  • American Chemical Society Repligen Award in Molecular Biology (1998)
  • Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2000)
  • Amgen Award of the Protein Society (2000)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2001)
  • UCLA's Seaborg Medal (2004)
  • Harvard University's Westheimer Medal (2005)
  • ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (2008, as preceptor, student was Rebecca Anne Nelson)

Significant trainees

• Michael Gribskov

• Melinda Balbirnie
  • Born Philadelphia
  • September 20, 1967
  • Postdoctoral scholar working with David Eisenberg in their explorations of the three-dimensional structures at the molecular level.

External links

• HHMI profile of David Eisenberg
• The Eisenberg research lab at UCLA
• UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics & Proteomics
• David Eisenberg’s speech during the Harvey Prize ceremony

References

1. ^ Harvey Prize Award

Persondata
Name	Eisenberg, David
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Date of birth	15 March 1939
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