William Martin Gelbart
William Martin Gelbart | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1945 |
| Died | August 11, 2015 (aged 69) |
| Alma mater | Brooklyn College, University of Wisconsin |
| Awards | George W. Beadle Award (2010) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Genetics |
| Institutions | Harvard University |
William Martin Gelbart (September 11, 1945 - August 11, 2015) was an American geneticist and a professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University. He was best known for his work with fly genetics, the discovery of decapentaplegic (dpp), and the formation of FlyBase.[1][2] He was a member of the National Advisory Council for the Human Genome Project.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Gelbart was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his B.S. in biology from Brooklyn College in 1966 after attending Harpur College at Binghamton University from 1962 to 1963.[4] He received a PhD in genetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971 with Allen S. Fox.[1]
Career and research
[edit]Gelbart did his postdoctoral work with Edward B. Lewis at Caltech and Art Chovnick at the University of Connecticut. He began his career at Harvard University in 1976 before becoming a full professor in 1983. His research was focused on molecular basis of pattern formation using the fruit fly as a model system. Using transvection, his group identified decapentaplegic, an locus containing an ortholog of human bone morphogenetic proteins. [5][1] Gelbart was a major leader in consolidating the findings of the Drosophila community into FlyBase along with Michael Ashburner, Rachel Drysdale, Gerry Rubin, Thom Kaufman and Kathy Matthews.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "WILLIAM M. GELBART SEPTEMBER 11, 1945 - AUGUST 11, 2015". Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology. 20 October 2015.
- ^ a b Wharton, Kristi (December 2015). "William Martin Gelbart 1945–2015". Nature Genetics. 47 (12): 1372. doi:10.1038/ng.3455. PMID 26620108.
- ^ says, Genes to Genomes: a blog from the Genetics Society of America (16 August 2015). "In Memoriam: Bill Gelbart". Genes to Genomes.
- ^ Matthew Meselson, Norbert Perrimon and Daniel Hartl (Chair). "Tribute to the life and service of William M. Gelbert", Harvard.edu website, 2 February 2016.
- ^ Spencer, Forrest A.; Hoffmann, F.Michael; Gelbart, William M. (March 1982). "Decapentaplegic: A gene complex affecting morphogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster". Cell. 28 (3): 451–461. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(82)90199-4. PMID 6804094. S2CID 24558891.