Richard D. Wood
Encyclopedia
Richard D. Wood is an American molecular biologist specializing in research on DNA repair
and mutation
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/286/5446/1897. He is known for pioneering studies on nucleotide excision repair
(NER), particularly for reconstituting the minimum set of proteins involved in this process, identifying proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA
) as part of the NER complex http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WSN-4C6BNK5-BC&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e74b8e13e377bccfcd1948f4f423b8f8 and identifying mammalian repair polymerase
s http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/278/34/32014http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/21/6117.
In humans, mutations affecting the NER DNA repair pathway cause the disease xeroderma pigmentosum
or XP. Normal UV and sunlight exposure generates DNA mutations (particularly pyrimidine dimers
) in epidermal cells that must be continually repaired through NER. XP patients are particularly sensitive to sun exposure and generally must stay indoors during the day, using heavy sunscreens to prevent skin damage and susceptibility to skin cancer. NER occurs through a programmed set of steps that includes recognition of the damaged site (probably by sensing an unpaired bubble at the mutation site), nicking the DNA at upstream and downstream sites, excising the damaged DNA, then filling in the single-stranded DNA gap using a polymerase
, with the opposite strand serving as a template for the proper sequence for the repair patch. Since multiple proteins are involved in NER, different XP patients may have different gene mutations. Cells having different NER gene mutations can complement each other, when the cells are fused together, to reestablish DNA repair since one cell line has an intact enzyme that is defective or missing in the other cell line. Thus, XP can be divided into complementation groups based on which enzyme is defective in the NER pathway http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/5/991. Wood and his colleagues reconstituted purified protein components based on the known defective enzymes from defined XP complementation groups to perform NER in vitro
and define DNA repair at the molecular level http://www.cell.com/abstract/0092-8674(95)90289-9http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=453130&blobtype=pdf.
Wood received his B.S.
degree in Biology
from Westminster College, Salt Lake City
Utah
(1975), his Ph.D.
degree in Biophysics
at the University of California, Berkeley
(1977), and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University
from 1982 to 1985. He performed much of his work on NER at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, from 1985 to 2001 as postdoctoral fellow, Research Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Principal Scientist. He currently holds the Grady F. Saunders Distinguished Professorship in Molecular Biology in the Department of Carcinogenesis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Science Park Research Division) in Smithville, Texas http://www.uth.tmc.edu/gsbs/tutorial/wood.html.
Wood is a jazz bassist (he was a music minor at Westminster College where his roommate at the time was the composer and orchestrator Geoff Stradling
) and plays in local bands and together with his wife Enid Wood, a violinist, teacher and artist http://web.mac.com/enidwood/Site/Home.html.
Fellow, Royal Society (1999)
Richard M. Cyert
Chair of Molecular Oncology, University of Pittsburgh
2001-2008
Grady F. Saunders Distinguished Professorship in Molecular Biology, MD Anderson Cancer Center 2009-
DNA repair
DNA repair refers to a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as UV light and radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in as many as 1...
and mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/286/5446/1897. He is known for pioneering studies on nucleotide excision repair
Nucleotide excision repair
Nucleotide excision repair is a DNA repair mechanism. DNA constantly requires repair due to damage that can occur to bases from a vast variety of sources including chemicals, radiation and other mutagens...
(NER), particularly for reconstituting the minimum set of proteins involved in this process, identifying proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA
PCNA
Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen, commonly known as PCNA, is a protein that acts as a processivity factor for DNA polymerase δ in eukaryotic cells. It achieves this processivity by encircling the DNA, thus creating a topological link to the genome...
) as part of the NER complex http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WSN-4C6BNK5-BC&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e74b8e13e377bccfcd1948f4f423b8f8 and identifying mammalian repair polymerase
Polymerase
A polymerase is an enzyme whose central function is associated with polymers of nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA.The primary function of a polymerase is the polymerization of new DNA or RNA against an existing DNA or RNA template in the processes of replication and transcription...
s http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/278/34/32014http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/21/6117.
In humans, mutations affecting the NER DNA repair pathway cause the disease xeroderma pigmentosum
Xeroderma pigmentosum
Xeroderma pigmentosum, or XP, is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder of DNA repair in which the ability to repair damage caused by ultraviolet light is deficient. In extreme cases, all exposure to sunlight must be forbidden, no matter how small. Multiple basal cell carcinomas and other skin...
or XP. Normal UV and sunlight exposure generates DNA mutations (particularly pyrimidine dimers
Pyrimidine dimers
Pyrimidine dimers are molecular lesions formed from thymine or cytosine bases in DNA via photochemical reactions. Ultraviolet light induces the formation of covalent linkages by reactions localized on the C=C double bonds. In dsRNA, uracil dimers may also accumulate as a result of UV radiation...
) in epidermal cells that must be continually repaired through NER. XP patients are particularly sensitive to sun exposure and generally must stay indoors during the day, using heavy sunscreens to prevent skin damage and susceptibility to skin cancer. NER occurs through a programmed set of steps that includes recognition of the damaged site (probably by sensing an unpaired bubble at the mutation site), nicking the DNA at upstream and downstream sites, excising the damaged DNA, then filling in the single-stranded DNA gap using a polymerase
Polymerase
A polymerase is an enzyme whose central function is associated with polymers of nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA.The primary function of a polymerase is the polymerization of new DNA or RNA against an existing DNA or RNA template in the processes of replication and transcription...
, with the opposite strand serving as a template for the proper sequence for the repair patch. Since multiple proteins are involved in NER, different XP patients may have different gene mutations. Cells having different NER gene mutations can complement each other, when the cells are fused together, to reestablish DNA repair since one cell line has an intact enzyme that is defective or missing in the other cell line. Thus, XP can be divided into complementation groups based on which enzyme is defective in the NER pathway http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/5/991. Wood and his colleagues reconstituted purified protein components based on the known defective enzymes from defined XP complementation groups to perform NER 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...
and define DNA repair at the molecular level http://www.cell.com/abstract/0092-8674(95)90289-9http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=453130&blobtype=pdf.
Wood received his B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
from Westminster College, Salt Lake City
Westminster College, Salt Lake City
Westminster College is a private liberal arts college located in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. The college comprises four schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business, the School of Education, and the School of Nursing and Health...
Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(1975), his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree in Biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1977), and was a postdoctoral fellow at 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...
from 1982 to 1985. He performed much of his work on NER at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, from 1985 to 2001 as postdoctoral fellow, Research Scientist, Senior Scientist, and Principal Scientist. He currently holds the Grady F. Saunders Distinguished Professorship in Molecular Biology in the Department of Carcinogenesis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Science Park Research Division) in Smithville, Texas http://www.uth.tmc.edu/gsbs/tutorial/wood.html.
Wood is a jazz bassist (he was a music minor at Westminster College where his roommate at the time was the composer and orchestrator Geoff Stradling
Geoff Stradling
Geoff Stradling is an American pianist, keyboardist, composer, arranger and orchestrator. He has recorded with Ernestine Anderson , Ladd McIntosh, Kenny Goldberg, Joe Gallardo, and Jane's Addiction on Ritual de lo Habitual .He is a noted jazz...
) and plays in local bands and together with his wife Enid Wood, a violinist, teacher and artist http://web.mac.com/enidwood/Site/Home.html.
Awards
Meyenburg Cancer Research Prize (1998)Fellow, Royal Society (1999)
Richard M. Cyert
Richard Cyert
Richard Michael Cyert was an American economist and statistician who served as the sixth President of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.-Early life:...
Chair of Molecular Oncology, University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
2001-2008
Grady F. Saunders Distinguished Professorship in Molecular Biology, MD Anderson Cancer Center 2009-
External links
- http://gsbs.uth.tmc.edu/tutorial/wood.html Dr. Wood's University of Texas page
- http://web.me.com/rdwood1/Site/Publications.html List of publications
- http://sciencepark.mdanderson.org M.D. Anderson Science Park
- http://www.enidwood.com Enid Wood