Ira Herskowitz
Ira Herskowitz (* July 14, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York City; † 28 April 2003 in San Francisco) was an American geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Life
Herskowitz 's father, Irwin Herskowitz, was a geneticist who worked on Drosophila. Ira Herskowitz had an identical twin brother, who was a neurologist, and two other siblings. The family moved several times when the father was appointed to another university. Ira Herskowitz acquired in 1967 at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech ) a bachelor and 1971 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT), a Ph.D. in biochemistry. After a short time as a postdoc just there Herskowitz received a first professorship ( Assistant Professor ) at the University of Oregon. In 1982 he moved to the University of California, San Francisco ( UCSF ), where he redesigned the Department of Genetics. From 1990 to 1995 he headed the Department of Biochemistry and since 1997 he was co - director of the Program of Human Genetics. Until his death, Herskowitz was a professor of genetics at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco.
Herskowitz died in 2003 of pancreatic cancer.
Work
Herskowitz is considered a pioneer of molecular genetics. While still a student, he was able to make important contributions to understanding the regulatory mechanisms within the bacteriophage lambda. To Herskowitz ' most important discoveries include the pathway of gene conversion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( baker's yeast ), is determined by its ( mating types) are rearranged as the genes for the mating types. The discovery is considered to be paving the way for the understanding of regulatory systems in eukaryotes.
Herskowitz, a method he patented, are modified with the yeast cells so that they produce human proteins - for example, human insulin - producing. Later works focus on pharmacogenetics.
Herskowitz services were also in the field of systematic reviews ( scientific review), in which he summarized findings on complex genetic processes on a scientific level. On Herskowitz ' diagrams in his lectures the widespread convention goes back to display in graphs inhibitory effects than ─ ┤ and promoting effects as →.