Dennis Torchia Explained

Dennis Torchia is an American biophysicist who specialized in NMR spectroscopy. He spent most of his career at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the United States National Institutes of Health, where he served as Chief of the Structural Biology Unit before his retirement in 2006.^[1]

Career

Torchia received his bachelor's degree from University of California, Riverside and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Elkan Blout at Harvard University, briefly worked at Bell Laboratories and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and joined NIDCR in 1974.^[2] He collaborated extensively with fellow NIH scientists Ad Bax, Marius Clore and Angela Gronenborn in the early development of multidimensional protein NMR,^[3] pioneered the use of isotopic labeling in the preparation of NMR samples,^[4] and developed techniques for studying protein dynamics.^[5]

Torchia assumed emeritus status in 2006, but has continued to publish reviews and retrospectives on the history of protein NMR.^{[6] [7]} He received the Eastern Analytical Symposium Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in 2013.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Director's Report to Council: May 2006. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. National Institutes of Health. 14 March 2015.
2. Web site: 2013 EAS Award for Outstanding Achievements in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Eastern Analytical Symposium. 14 March 2015.
3. Book: Clore. Marius G.. Robin K.. Roderick L.. Harris. Wasylishen. Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance. 2011. John Wiley & Sons. 9780470034590. Adventures in Biomolecular NMR. 10.1002/9780470034590. 2015-03-14. 2016-03-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305131346/http://spin.niddk.nih.gov/clore/Pub/pdf/432.pdf. dead.
4. Bax. Ad. Triple resonance three-dimensional protein NMR: Before it became a black box. Journal of Magnetic Resonance. December 2011. 213. 2. 442–445. 10.1016/j.jmr.2011.08.003. 21885307. 3235243. 2011JMagR.213..442B .
5. Kay. LE. Torchia. DA. Bax. A. Backbone dynamics of proteins as studied by 15N inverse detected heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy: application to staphylococcal nuclease.. Biochemistry. 14 November 1989. 28. 23. 8972–9. 2690953. 10.1021/bi00449a003.
6. Torchia. Dennis A.. NMR studies of dynamic biomolecular conformational ensembles. Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. February 2015. 84–85. 14–32. 10.1016/j.pnmrs.2014.11.001. 4325279. 25669739. 2015PNMRS..84...14T .
7. Book: Torchia. Dennis A.. Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance. 2012. John Wiley & Sons. 9780470034590. Adventures in Biomolecular NMR. 10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1081.