Gerald Joyce
Encyclopedia
Gerald Francis Joyce is a professor and researcher at The Scripps Research Institute
, best known for his work on in vitro
evolution of catalytic RNA
molecules and the origins of life.
Joyce received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago
in 1978, completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego
in 1984. He was a postdoctoral fellow and senior research associate at the Salk Institute from 1985 to 1989, and joined Scripps in 1989. Joyce was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
in 2001. He served as Dean of the Faculty at Scripps from 2006 to 2011, during which time he was instrumental in founding a second campus in Jupiter, Florida.
Joyce received the Urey medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL) in 2005.
In 2009, Joyce's lab was the first to produce a self-replicating in vitro system, capable of exponential growth and continuing evolution, composed entirely of RNA enzymes.
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, best known for his work on in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
evolution of catalytic RNA
RNA
Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....
molecules and the origins of life.
Joyce received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1978, completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
in 1984. He was a postdoctoral fellow and senior research associate at the Salk Institute from 1985 to 1989, and joined Scripps in 1989. Joyce was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 2001. He served as Dean of the Faculty at Scripps from 2006 to 2011, during which time he was instrumental in founding a second campus in Jupiter, Florida.
Joyce received the Urey medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL) in 2005.
In 2009, Joyce's lab was the first to produce a self-replicating in vitro system, capable of exponential growth and continuing evolution, composed entirely of RNA enzymes.
Awards
- National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, 1994
- Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, 1995
- Herbert W. Dickerman Award, 1997
- Hans Sigrist Prize, 1997