Ronald R. Breaker | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Purdue University, Scripps Research Institute |
Known for | Riboswitches, Ribozymes, Deoxyribozymes |
Awards | Beckman Young Investigators Award |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biochemistry, Molecular Biology |
Institutions | Yale University |
Doctoral advisor | Peter T. Gilham |
Other academic advisors | Gerald Joyce |
Ronald R. Breaker (born 1964) is an American biochemist who is a Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. He is best known for the discovery of riboswitches. His current research is focused on understanding advanced functions of nucleic acids, including the discovery and analysis of riboswitches and ribozymes.
Research
Ronald earned his B.S. in biology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University with Peter T Gilham. He was a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute with Gerald Joyce. While at Scripps, he isolated the first DNA enzyme (deoxyribozyme). He joined the molecular, cellular, and developmental biology department at Yale University. His research group worked on in vitro engineered riboswitches, RNA biosensors, and began to look for riboswitches in nature and identified the Cobalamin riboswitch. Over the next decade, the group would perform pivotal work establishing the role of ligand-binding RNAs and resulted in the discovery of multiple classes of riboswitches.
He has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator since 2005. Breaker is a member of the JASON defense advisory group, and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2013.
Awards
- AAAS Fellow, 2004
- American Society for Microbiology Eli Lilly Award, 2005
- NAS Award in Molecular Biology, 2006
- Rolf Sammet Professorship, Goethe University Frankfurt, 2012
- Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, 2010
- U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 2013
- Distinguished Alumni Award, Purdue University, 2014
- ASBMB–Merck Award, 2016
References
- "Ronald Breaker". Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Yarnell, Amanda (23 March 2004). "C&EN: AHA! MOMENTS - RONALD R. BREAKER". pubsapp.acs.org. C&EN. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
- Breaker, RR; Joyce, GF (December 1994). "A DNA enzyme that cleaves RNA". Chemistry & Biology. 1 (4): 223–9. doi:10.1016/1074-5521(94)90014-0. PMID 9383394.
- Nahvi, A; Sudarsan, N; Ebert, MS; Zou, X; Brown, KL; Breaker, RR (September 2002). "Genetic control by a metabolite binding mRNA". Chemistry & Biology. 9 (9): 1043. doi:10.1016/s1074-5521(02)00224-7. PMID 12323379.
- Parker, Nicole (1 March 2016). "Breaker 'vastly expanded our appreciation of the versatility of noncoding RNAs in biology'". www.asbmb.org. ASBMB. ASBMB.
- Stone, Melissa (25 February 2010). "Riboswitches: A Molecular Archeological Discovery – Yale Scientific Magazine". www.yalescientific.org. yale scientific.
- "Ronald R. Breaker". HHMI. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- "Ronald Breaker, Ph.D."
External links
Categories:- 1964 births
- Living people
- American biochemists
- Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
- Purdue University alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point alumni
- Yale Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology faculty
- Scripps Research alumni
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Members of JASON (advisory group)
- Yale Sterling Professors