Mariano Barbacid Explained

Mariano Barbacid
Birth Name:Mariano Barbacid Montalbán
Birth Date:4 October 1949
Birth Place:Madrid, Spain
Nationality:Spanish
Occupation:Cancer researcher
Education:Biochemist
Alma Mater:Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Known For:Isolating the first oncogene

Mariano Barbacid Montalbán (born 4 October 1949 in Madrid)[1] is a Spanish molecular biochemist who discovered the first oncogene HRAS.

Academic career

He completed his higher education in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where he studied chemical sciences, and in the United States, where he started as an intern; years later he was appointed director of the National Cancer Institute. He then moved back to his native Spain to lead the newly created CNIO (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas). He also served on the Life Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize in 2011.

Scientific Research

Barbacid is credited for isolating the human oncogene HRAS in bladder carcinoma. His discovery was published in Nature in 1982 in an article titled "A point mutation is responsible for the acquisition of transforming properties by the T24 human bladder-carcinoma oncogene".[2] He spent the following months extending his research, eventually discovering that such oncogene was the mutation of an allele of the Ras subfamily, as well as its activation mechanism.

In 2003 he proved that the enzyme CDK2, until then believed to be indispensable in cellular division, was not necessary in order for DNA replication to take place.

Publications

Awards

His scientific career has been awarded with prizes such as the Distinguished Young Scientist Award (1983), the King Juan Carlos I Science award (1984), the Rhodes Memorial award (1985) and the Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher (2005). His effort has also been acknowledged with the Great Cross of the Order of 2 May (2011).

Other awards include:

Notes and References

  1. News: Barbacid deja la dirección del CNIO para centrarse en la investigación . 29 September 2009 . Javier Sampedro . 29 September 2009 . El País . spanish . El científico ya expresó su intención de abandonar el cargo tras la puesta en marcha del centro oncológico .
  2. Reddy EP, Reynolds RK, Santos E, Barbacid M. «A point mutation is responsible for the acquisition of transforming properties by the T24 human bladder carcinoma oncogene.» Nature 1982 Nov 11; 300 (5888): 149–52.
  3. Zarbl H, Sukumar S, Arthur AV, Martin-Zanca D, Barbacid M. «Direct mutagenesis of HA-RAS-1 oncogenes by N-Nitroso-N-Methylurea during initiation of mammary carcinogenesis in rat.» Nature 1985 May 30 – Jun 5; 315 (6018): 382–5.
  4. Barbacid M. «Ras genes.» Annu Rev Biochem 1987; 56: 779–827.
  5. Klein R, Jing SQ, Nanduri V, O'Rourke E, Barbacid M. The trk proto-oncogene encodes a receptor for nerve growth factor. Cell 1991 Apr 5; 65(1): 189–97.
  6. Lamballe F, Klein R, Barbacid M. «trkC, a new member of the trk family of tyrosine protein kinases, is a receptor for neurotrophin-3.» Cell 1991 Sep 6; 66 (5): 967–79.
  7. Malumbres M, Ortega S, Barbacid M. «Genetic analysis of mammalian cyclin-dependent kinases and their inhibitors.» Biol Chem 2000 Sep–Oct; 381 (9–10): 827–38.
  8. Hennessy EJ, Sheedy FJ, Santamaria D, Barbacid M, O'Neill LA. «Toll-like Receptor-4 (TLR4) Down-regulates MicroRNA-107, Increasing Macrophage Adhesion via Cyclin-dependent Kinase 6.» J Biol Chem 2011 Jul 22; 286 (29): 25531-9.

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