Profile Rank: Emeritus Professor

Phillip A. Sharp

Education

  • PhD, 1969, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • BA, 1966, Chemistry and Math, Union College

Research Summary

We investigate small, non-coding RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs), which regulate over half of the genes in mammalian cells at the stages of translation and mRNA stability. We are also interested in the processes underlying transcription from the anti-sense strand (so-called “divergent” transcription), as well as the relationship between elongation of transcription, RNA splicing, and chromatin modifications.

Awards

  • AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, 2020
  • AACR Distinguished Award for Extraordinary Scientific Innovation and Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Research and Biomedical Science, 2018
  • Royal Society of London, Foreign Fellow, 2011
  • National Science Foundation, National Medal of Science, 2004
  • The Nobel Foundation, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993
  • National Academy of Medicine, Member, 1991
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow, 1987
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow, 1987
  • National Academy of Sciences, Member, 1983
Frank B. Gertler

Education

  • PhD, 1992, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • BS, 1985, Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Summary

Before closing his lab, Frank Gertler’s research combined mouse genetics, cell biological and biochemical approaches to investigate the interplay between signal transduction pathways and the actin cytoskeleton. They deduced the functional importance of these regulatory systems in organismal development and disease. Their main focus was cell motility and the control of cellular protrusions — specifically, motility during tumor cell invasion and metastasis, as well as how neurons migrate and extend their growth cones.

Awards

  • Ross Scholar Award, 2006-2008
  • ASCB/Promega Early Career Life Scientist Award, 2003
  • Keck Distinguished Young Scholar Award, 2000-2005
  • McKnight Scholar in Neurosciences Award, 2000-2003