John Kuriyan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Kuriyan
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John Kuriyan in 2015, portrait via the Royal Society
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| Institutions | Vanderbilt University School of Medicine |
| Thesis | The structure and flexibility of myoglobin : molecular dynamics and x-ray crystallography (1986) |
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John Kuriyan is a leading scientist who studies how living things work at a tiny level. He is currently a professor of biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He also leads the basic sciences department there.
Before joining Vanderbilt, he was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He also worked as a scientist at Berkeley Lab and was an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Kuriyan is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. This is a very important group of top scientists in the United States.
Becoming a Scientist
John Kuriyan started his journey in science by studying chemistry. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), from Juniata College in Pennsylvania.
After that, he went to the MIT. There, he earned his PhD in physical chemistry. His teachers, Gregory Petsko and Martin Karplus, helped guide his research.
What He Studies
After finishing his PhD, Dr. Kuriyan did more research at Harvard for a year. Then, he became a professor at the Rockefeller University.
Dr. Kuriyan's laboratory focuses on understanding how tiny parts of cells work. These parts are called enzymes and other proteins. They are like tiny machines that help cells do important jobs. For example, some proteins help cells send signals to each other. Others help make copies of DNA, which is like the instruction manual for life.
His team mainly uses a method called x-ray crystallography. This helps them figure out the 3-D shapes of proteins. Knowing their shapes helps scientists understand how they work. They also use other methods, like studying how chemicals react and using computers, to learn more about these tiny machines.
Awards and Special Recognitions
John Kuriyan has received many important awards for his scientific work. In 1989, he was named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. This award helps support promising young scientists.
In 2005, he received the Loundsbery Award from the National Academy of Sciences. He has also been honored by other groups, including the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Chemical Society.
In 2015, he was chosen as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected scientific group in the United Kingdom. In 2018, he was also elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Books He Has Written
John Kuriyan has also helped write books to share his knowledge.
- The molecules of life: physical and chemical principles (2013) – This book is about the basic rules of how molecules in living things work.
- Mechanisms of RAS activation at the membrane (2006) – This book explains how certain proteins called RAS become active in cells.
