Ronald Breaker Explained

Ronald R. Breaker
Nationality:American
Fields:Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
Workplaces:Yale University
Alma Mater:University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, Purdue University, Scripps Research Institute
Doctoral Advisor:Peter T. Gilham
Academic Advisors:Gerald Joyce
Known For:Riboswitches, Ribozymes, Deoxyribozymes
Awards:Beckman Young Investigators Award[1]

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. [2]

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).[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] [6]

He has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator since 2005.[7] Breaker is a member of the JASON defense advisory group, and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2013.[8]

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ronald Breaker . Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation . 1 August 2018.
  2. News: Yarnell . Amanda . C&EN: AHA! MOMENTS - RONALD R. BREAKER . 3 June 2022 . pubsapp.acs.org . C&EN . 23 March 2004.
  3. Breaker . RR . Joyce . GF . A DNA enzyme that cleaves RNA. . Chemistry & Biology . December 1994 . 1 . 4 . 223–9 . 10.1016/1074-5521(94)90014-0 . 9383394.
  4. Nahvi . A . Sudarsan . N . Ebert . MS . Zou . X . Brown . KL . Breaker . RR . Genetic control by a metabolite binding mRNA. . Chemistry & Biology . September 2002 . 9 . 9 . 1043 . 10.1016/s1074-5521(02)00224-7 . 12323379. free .
  5. News: Parker . Nicole . Breaker 'vastly expanded our appreciation of the versatility of noncoding RNAs in biology' . www.asbmb.org . ASBMB . ASBMB . 1 March 2016 . en.
  6. News: Stone . Melissa . Riboswitches: A Molecular Archeological Discovery – Yale Scientific Magazine . www.yalescientific.org . yale scientific . 25 February 2010.
  7. Web site: Ronald R. Breaker. HHMI. 14 February 2013.
  8. Web site: Ronald Breaker, Ph.D..