Ulrich K. Laemmli (born 1940), real name Lämmli, is a Professor in the biochemistry and molecular biology departments at University of Geneva. He is known for the refinement of SDS-PAGE, a widely used method for separating proteins based on their electrophoretic mobility.[1] His paper describing the method is among the most cited scholarly journal articles of all time.[2][3][4] His current research involves studying the structural organization of nuclei and chromatin within the cell.[5]

Ulrich K. Laemmli
Born1940 (age 83–84)
NationalitySwiss
Known forSDS-PAGE
AwardsLouis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1996)
Marcel Benoist Prize (1988)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Geneva

Career

edit

Laemmli received a PhD in 1969 at the University of Geneva under Eduard Kellenberger.[6] His thesis was titled "The assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4".[7] He conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology under Aaron Klug.[8]

Major scientific contributions

edit

Although electrophoresis was used to separate proteins before Laemmli's work, he made significant improvements to the method. The term "Laemmli buffer" is often used to describe an SDS-containing buffer that is used to prepare (denature) samples for SDS-PAGE.[1][9]

Awards and honors

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Laemmli UK (August 1970). "Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4". Nature. 227 (5259): 680–685. doi:10.1038/227680a0. PMID 5432063. S2CID 3105149.
  2. ^ "Bio Infobank Library-Kinetics". BioInfoBank Institute. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  3. ^ Garfield, Eugene (1998). "THE USE OF JOURNAL IMPACT FACTORS AND CITATION ANALYSIS FOR EVALUATION OF SCIENCE". The Scientist. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  4. ^ Garfield, Eugene (12 February 1990). "The most cited papers of all time" (PDF). Current Comments. 13 (7): 2–14. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  5. ^ "PROFESSOR ULRICH K. LAEMMLI". Geneva, Switzerland: Département de biologie moléculaire - Université de Genève. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Prizes". Events, seminars, students' life. University of Geneva Faculties of Medicine and Science. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. ^ Laemmli, U. K.; Quittner, F. (1974). "Maturation of the head of bacteriophage T4: IV. The proteins of the core of the tubular polyheads and in vitro cleavage of the head proteins". Virology. 62 (2): 483–499. doi:10.1016/0042-6822(74)90409-7. PMID 4432376. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. ^ King, Jonathan. "Ulrich Laemmli's development of SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis". MIT Faculty Newsletter. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  9. ^ "SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)". Gainesville, FL: EnCor Biotechnology Inc. 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  10. ^ "The winners of the Louis-Jeantet Prize for medicine". Louis-Jeante Foundation. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
  11. ^ LEMPINEN, EDWARD W. (24 November 2006). "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows" (PDF). Science. 314 (5803). AAAS: 1256–60 [1258]. doi:10.1126/science.314.5803.1256. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  12. ^ "2006 annual report" (PDF). AAAS. 2006. p. 22. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
edit