Richard A. Jorgensen
Encyclopedia
Richard A. Jorgensen is an American
molecular geneticist
and an early pioneer in the study of post transcriptional gene silencing.
in Wilmette, Illinois
, a college preparatory school. Jorgensen holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering
and a M.S. in chemistry
from Northwestern University
, which he attended from from 1969 through 1973.
In 1978, he received a Ph.D. in biochemistry
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He did postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution's plant biology deptartment at Stanford University
with William F Thompson, and then at the University of California at Davis in the department of genetics with Robert W. Allard. From 1983–1990, he was employed at Advanced Genetic Sciences, Inc., which became DNA Plant Technology
Corp., where he was director of floriculture genetic engineering and did the initial work on cosuppression. From 1990–1997, he was a research geneticist at UC Davis, and from 1997–2010 he was associate professor and then professor at the University of Arizona
where he held the Bud Antle Chair for Excellence in Agricultural and Life Sciences.
His and Carolyn Napoli's observations of pigment gene 'cosuppression' in Petunia
flowers are examples of post transcriptional gene silencing that predated the discovery of RNA interference
(RNAi) and contributed to the current understanding of the commonality of RNA-mediated gene silencing in eukaryote
s. Their initial observations were made while working at the U.S. biotech company DNA Plant Technology and form part of the basis of a number of U.S. patents on gene regulation and crop manipulation. The significance of the discovery of cosuppression was described by NOVA scienceNOW
in 2005. Jorgensen's primary focus on the problem of cosuppression in petunia has been on the epigenetic aspects of the phenomenon and the relationship between cosuppression (RNAi) and epigenetics. Together with William Lucas at UC Davis and others he proposed the existence of an RNA Information Superhighway in plants by which information is transmitted throughout the plant via RNA molecules which influence gene expression and epigenetic state Jorgensen was awarded the 2007 Martin Gibbs Medal by the American Society of Plant Biologists
"for his pioneering work leading to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi)." He was elected an Inaugural Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists in 2007 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (www.aaas.org).
From 2003 through 2007 Jorgensen served as Editor in Chief of The Plant Cell
, the leading primary research journal in plant biology (www.plantcell.org). From 2007 to 2009 he was director of the iPlant Collaborative
, a 5 year, $50 million project to develop cyberinfrastructure
for the plant sciences. According to the US National Science Foundation
(NSF) awarding agency, this was "the first national cyberinfrastructure
center to tackle global "grand challenge" plant biology questions that have great implications on larger questions regarding the environment, agriculture, energy and the very organisms that sustain our existence on earth". Researchers relied heavily on computational thinking, which uses computers to free up humans to spend more time on the creative tasks that humans do best.
Jorgensen became profesor investigador at LANGEBIO (Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad; www.langebio.cinvestav.mx), a new research institute in the Mexican federal CINVESTAV research system located in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico; he retained a title as professor emeritus in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona. His research interests are in computational biology
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
molecular geneticist
Molecular genetics
Molecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology...
and an early pioneer in the study of post transcriptional gene silencing.
Biography
From 1965 through 1969 he attended Loyola AcademyLoyola Academy
Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...
in Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...
, a college preparatory school. Jorgensen holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
and a M.S. in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, which he attended from from 1969 through 1973.
In 1978, he received a Ph.D. in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He did postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution's plant biology deptartment 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 William F Thompson, and then at the University of California at Davis in the department of genetics with Robert W. Allard. From 1983–1990, he was employed at Advanced Genetic Sciences, Inc., which became DNA Plant Technology
DNA Plant Technology
DNA Plant Technology was an early pioneer in applying transgenic biotechnology to problems in agriculture. The company was founded in Cinnamonson, New Jersey. In 1994, their headquarters moved to Oakland, California...
Corp., where he was director of floriculture genetic engineering and did the initial work on cosuppression. From 1990–1997, he was a research geneticist at UC Davis, and from 1997–2010 he was associate professor and then professor at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
where he held the Bud Antle Chair for Excellence in Agricultural and Life Sciences.
His and Carolyn Napoli's observations of pigment gene 'cosuppression' in Petunia
Petunia
Petunia is a widely cultivated genus of flowering plants of South American origin, closely related with tobacco, cape gooseberries, tomatoes, deadly nightshades, potatoes and chili peppers; in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower derived its name from French, which took the word petun, meaning...
flowers are examples of post transcriptional gene silencing that predated the discovery of RNA interference
RNA interference
RNA interference is a process within living cells that moderates the activity of their genes. Historically, it was known by other names, including co-suppression, post transcriptional gene silencing , and quelling. Only after these apparently unrelated processes were fully understood did it become...
(RNAi) and contributed to the current understanding of the commonality of RNA-mediated gene silencing in eukaryote
Eukaryote
A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...
s. Their initial observations were made while working at the U.S. biotech company DNA Plant Technology and form part of the basis of a number of U.S. patents on gene regulation and crop manipulation. The significance of the discovery of cosuppression was described by NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
in 2005. Jorgensen's primary focus on the problem of cosuppression in petunia has been on the epigenetic aspects of the phenomenon and the relationship between cosuppression (RNAi) and epigenetics. Together with William Lucas at UC Davis and others he proposed the existence of an RNA Information Superhighway in plants by which information is transmitted throughout the plant via RNA molecules which influence gene expression and epigenetic state Jorgensen was awarded the 2007 Martin Gibbs Medal by the American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Plant Biologists
The American Society of Plant Biologists is a professional society devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences. It was founded in 1924 as the American Society of Plant Physiologists and renamed in 2001...
"for his pioneering work leading to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi)." He was elected an Inaugural Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists in 2007 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (www.aaas.org).
From 2003 through 2007 Jorgensen served as Editor in Chief of The Plant Cell
The Plant Cell
The Plant Cell is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of plant biology, especially the areas of cell and molecular biology, genetics, development, and evolution. It is published by the American Society of Plant Biologists...
, the leading primary research journal in plant biology (www.plantcell.org). From 2007 to 2009 he was director of the iPlant Collaborative
IPlant Collaborative
The iPlant Collaborative is a virtual organization created by a cooperative agreement funded by the US National Science Foundation to create cyberinfrastructure for the plant sciences . The NSF compared cyberinfrastructure to physical infrastructure, ".....
, a 5 year, $50 million project to develop cyberinfrastructure
Cyberinfrastructure
United States federal research funders use the term cyberinfrastructure to describe research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services distributed over...
for the plant sciences. According to the US National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF) awarding agency, this was "the first national cyberinfrastructure
Cyberinfrastructure
United States federal research funders use the term cyberinfrastructure to describe research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services distributed over...
center to tackle global "grand challenge" plant biology questions that have great implications on larger questions regarding the environment, agriculture, energy and the very organisms that sustain our existence on earth". Researchers relied heavily on computational thinking, which uses computers to free up humans to spend more time on the creative tasks that humans do best.
Jorgensen became profesor investigador at LANGEBIO (Laboratorio Nacional de Genomica para la Biodiversidad; www.langebio.cinvestav.mx), a new research institute in the Mexican federal CINVESTAV research system located in Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico; he retained a title as professor emeritus in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona. His research interests are in computational biology
Computational biology
Computational biology involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems...
.
External links
- Homepage at LANGEBIO
- Homepage at the University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...