Martin Chalfie
Martin Chalfie ( born January 15, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American biologist and together with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2008.
Life and work
Chalfie 1977 doctorate at Harvard University in physiology. In 1982 he became an associate professor of biology at Columbia University. Later, he was William R. Kenan Jr. - Professor of Biology at the same university.
Chalfie working in the field of cell differentiation. In particular, he is interested in the development and function of nerve cells, he examined the example from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. He also developed new experimental methods for these studies. He was able to bring the first time outside of the jellyfish Aequorea victoria to express the gene of green fluorescent protein in 1994. This was the breakthrough of the protein as a genetic marker.
Chalfie is married to Tulle Hazelrigg, who holds a professorship at Columbia University, and has a daughter.
Publication
- Martin Chalfie and Steven Kain: Green Fluorescent Protein. Properties, Applications and Protocols. 2nd Edition, Wiley & Sons, Hoboken 2006, ISBN 0-471-73682-1
Awards
- 2006 Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science
- 2008 E. B. Wilson Medal
- 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry