Prof. Elizabeth H. Blackburn
Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, discovered the ribonucleoprotein enzyme, telomerase.

Research
Prof. Blackburn and her research team are working with a variety of organisms and human cancer cells, with the goal of understanding telomerase and telomere biology. Work in the Blackburn laboratory concerns the synthesis and function of telomeres, the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomeric DNA consists of tandem repeats of very simple sequences, one strand of which is synthesized by the ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase. Telomerase specifies the sequence of telomeric DNA by using a short sequence within the telomerase RNA moiety as the template for DNA synthesis. Thus, telomeric DNA is unusual in being an essential chromosomal element synthesized by copying an RNA sequence; that is, by reverse transcription. Prof Blackburn’s studies of telomere synthesis by telomerase has led to the finding that cell division is impaired by the actions of certain mutant telomerases. Prof Blackburn’s research has laid the foundation for a whole field of inquiry into the possibility that the telomerase enzyme could be manipulated to treat cancer. Learning to manipulate telomerase thus holds the promise of renewing aging tissues and combating cancer.

 

Biography
Prof Blackburn was educated in the state of Victoria at the University of Melbourne earning a B.Sc. (1970) and M.Sc. (1972), and earned her Ph. D. (1975) from the University of Cambridge in England. Her postdoctoral study in molecular and cellular biology was at Yale University (1975-1977). In 1978, Prof. Blackburn joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Molecular Biology. In 1990, she moved across the Bay to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she served as Department Chair from 1993 to 1999. Prof. Blackburn is currently the Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology at UCSF. She is also a non-resident fellow of the Salk Institute.

 

Bioethics
Prof Blackburn was appointed a member of the President's Council on Bioethics in 2001. She was fired in February 2004 reportedly for taking to task the Chairman (Professor Leon Kass) over her outspoken opposition to the removal from the council's consideration of discussion on the ethics of research on human cells. This was followed by expressions of outrage over her removal by many scientists.

In 2007, Blackburn was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. Prof Blackburn also serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Genetics Policy Institute.

Awards