Philip Hanawalt
Encyclopedia
Philip C. Hanawalt is an American biologist who discovered the process of repair replication of damaged DNA
in 1963. He is also considered the co-discoverer of the ubiquitous process of DNA excision repair along with his mentor, Richard Setlow, and Paul Howard-Flanders. He holds the Dr. Morris Herzstein Professorship in the Department of Biology at Stanford University
, with a joint appointment in the Dermatology Department in Stanford University School of Medicine
.
. Hanawalt eventually transferred to Oberlin College
where he received his B.A. in physics in 1954. He received his M.S. in physics from Yale University
in 1955. Hanawalt also received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Yale University in 1959, and undertook three years of postdoctoral study at the University of Copenhagen
, Denmark, and at the California Institute of Technology
before joining the faculty at Stanford in 1961.
He has served on the Board of Trustees and is now an Honorary Trustee of Oberlin College. He has received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Oberlin and the Doctor Honoris Causa from both the University of Seville
, Spain, and the University of the Bío-Bío, Chile.
Hanawalt was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences
in 1989, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2008. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the American Academy of Microbiology, and he is a Foreign Associate of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
, and as a Senior Editor for the journal, Cancer Research
. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
. He has served on many editorial boards and advisory committees in academia and government.
He has trained 29 Ph.D. students at Stanford and many postdoctoral researchers. Thirty-five different countries are represented among the participants in his research group over the past 48 years.
and the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS)
in 1992, from which he also received the annual Student Mentoring Award.
He won the International Mutation Research Award for Excellence in Scientific Achievement in 1987, and the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Foundation Annual Lectureship in Japan in 1999 and he was more recently a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University.
He has served as president of the EMS and was the president/organizer of the 9th International Conference on Environmental Mutagens (ICEM) in San Francisco in 2005. In 2009 he delivered the Keynote Lecture for the 10th ICEM in Florence, Italy. He has organized many meetings on DNA repair, including the first international conference in this field, at Squaw Valley, CA, in 1974, and subsequent Gordon Conferences on Mutagenesis and on Mammalian DNA Repair.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
in 1963. He is also considered the co-discoverer of the ubiquitous process of DNA excision repair along with his mentor, Richard Setlow, and Paul Howard-Flanders. He holds the Dr. Morris Herzstein Professorship in the Department of Biology at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, with a joint appointment in the Dermatology Department in Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
.
Early life and education
Having an interest in electronics from youth, Hanawalt earned an honorable mention in the 1949 Westinghouse Science Talent Search, receiving a scholarship to attend Deep Springs CollegeDeep Springs College
Deep Springs is a private, all-male , alternative college in Deep Springs, California, in the United States. A two-year college, the institution currently aims for a student body size of 26, though the number is occasionally lower...
. Hanawalt eventually transferred to Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
where he received his B.A. in physics in 1954. He received his M.S. in physics from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1955. Hanawalt also received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Yale University in 1959, and undertook three years of postdoctoral study at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
, Denmark, and at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
before joining the faculty at Stanford in 1961.
DNA Repair
DNA repair is the process by which all living cells deal with damage to their genetic material. Such damage occurs as a consequence of exposure to environmental radiations and genotoxic chemicals, but also to endogenous oxidations and the intrinsic instability of DNA. Hanawalt and his colleagues discovered a special pathway of excision repair, called transcription-coupled repair, which is targeted to expressed genes, and he studies several diseases characterized by defects in DNA repair pathways. DNA repair is important for protecting against cancer and some aspects of ageing in humans, and its deficiency has been implicated in the etiology of a number of hereditary diseases.Career
In 1965 Hanawalt became Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford, and was promoted to Professor in 1970.He has served on the Board of Trustees and is now an Honorary Trustee of Oberlin College. He has received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Oberlin and the Doctor Honoris Causa from both the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
, Spain, and the University of the Bío-Bío, Chile.
Hanawalt was elected to the United States 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 1989, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2008. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
and the American Academy of Microbiology, and he is a Foreign Associate of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
European Molecular Biology Organization
EMBO stands for excellence in the life sciences. The EMBO mission is to enable the best science by supporting talented researchers, stimulating scientific exchange and advancing policies for a world-class European research environment....
. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences...
, and as a Senior Editor for the journal, Cancer Research
Cancer Research (journal)
Cancer Research is a scientific journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research. Its focus is original research papers relating to cancer and cancer-related biomedical sciences. The first edition was published in 1941.-Indexing:...
. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
American Association for Cancer Research
The American Association for Cancer Research is the world's oldest and largest professional association to advancing cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research including basic, clinical and translational research into the etiology, prevention, diagnosis,...
. He has served on many editorial boards and advisory committees in academia and government.
He has trained 29 Ph.D. students at Stanford and many postdoctoral researchers. Thirty-five different countries are represented among the participants in his research group over the past 48 years.
Awards and honours
Hanawalt won the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Northern California Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1991, and the Peter and Helen Bing Award for Distinguished Teaching at Stanford University. He has won annual research awards from the American Society for PhotobiologyAmerican Society for Photobiology
The American Society for Photobiology is a scientific society for the promotion of research in photobiology, integration of different photobiology disciplines, dissemination of photobiology knowledge, and provides information on photobiological aspects of national and international...
and the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS)
Environmental Mutagen Society
The Environmental Mutagen Society is a scientific society "for the promotion of critical scientific knowledge and research into the causes and consequences of damage to the genome and epigenome in order to inform and support national and international efforts to ensure a healthy, sustainable...
in 1992, from which he also received the annual Student Mentoring Award.
He won the International Mutation Research Award for Excellence in Scientific Achievement in 1987, and the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Foundation Annual Lectureship in Japan in 1999 and he was more recently a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University.
He has served as president of the EMS and was the president/organizer of the 9th International Conference on Environmental Mutagens (ICEM) in San Francisco in 2005. In 2009 he delivered the Keynote Lecture for the 10th ICEM in Florence, Italy. He has organized many meetings on DNA repair, including the first international conference in this field, at Squaw Valley, CA, in 1974, and subsequent Gordon Conferences on Mutagenesis and on Mammalian DNA Repair.