Bruce Alberts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bruce Alberts
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Bruce Alberts in 2023
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| 20th President of the National Academy of Sciences | |
| In office 1993–2005 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Press |
| Succeeded by | Ralph J. Cicerone |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Bruce Michael Alberts
April 14, 1938 Chicago, Illinois, U.S |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Betty Neary Alberts |
| Education | Harvard College (BSc 1960) Harvard University (PhD 1965) |
| Known for | Molecular Biology of the Cell |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry Biophysics Cell biology |
| Institutions | Princeton University University of California, San Francisco |
| Thesis | Characterization of Naturally Occurring, Cross-Linked Fraction of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (1966) |
| Doctoral advisor | Paul Doty |
Bruce Michael Alberts, born on April 14, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American biochemist. He is a leading expert in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Alberts is famous for his important research on how living cells copy their chromosomes when they divide.
He is also well-known as one of the original authors of Molecular Biology of the Cell. This book is a very important and popular science textbook. Dr. Alberts also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Science magazine, a major scientific publication.
In 2014, he received the National Medal of Science. This award recognized his brilliant ideas and experiments in understanding how DNA copies itself. It also honored his strong dedication to making science education better and helping create public policies based on science.
From 1993 to 2005, Dr. Alberts was the president of the National Academy of Sciences. He is known for helping shape science-related public policies. He even served as a United States Science Envoy to countries like Pakistan and Indonesia. He believes that "Science education should be about learning to think and solve problems like a scientist." He emphasizes that everyone should learn to evaluate information using evidence and logic, just like scientists do.
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Bruce Alberts' Education Journey
Bruce Alberts went to New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. After high school, he attended Harvard College, planning to study medicine. However, he found some of his lab classes boring. He asked if he could work with his tutor, Jacques Fresco, in Paul M. Doty's lab instead.
That summer, his research led to two successful papers. These papers were about mistakes that can happen in the spiral structures of DNA and RNA. This experience made Alberts decide to continue studying biophysics. He earned his bachelor's degree in biochemical sciences in 1960 with top honors.
Earning a PhD in Biophysics
Alberts then worked with Paul M. Doty again for his PhD. His projects were very ambitious. He first tried to figure out the genetic code. Then, he tried to test his idea of how DNA polymerase copies a double-spiral DNA template.
He faced a challenge when he didn't pass his first oral exam in 1965. However, he finished his PhD research later that year. He finally received his doctorate in biophysics from Harvard University in 1966. Alberts says that failing that first exam taught him a lot more than his successes. He learned that having a good experimental plan is extremely important in science.
Bruce Alberts' Scientific Career
After getting his PhD, Alberts went to the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire in Geneva, Switzerland. There, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Richard H. Epstein. They studied genes involved in how DNA copies itself in a type of virus called T4 phage.
Epstein and his students had found that at least seven different proteins were needed for T4 DNA to copy. Alberts decided to try something new. He created a special DNA column to clean proteins that attach to DNA. This allowed him to purify the T4 Bacteriophage Gene 32 protein. This was the first time a single-stranded DNA binding protein was identified. These types of proteins are now known to be in all cells.
Research at Princeton University
In 1966, Alberts joined the biochemistry department at Princeton University as a professor. He became an associate professor in 1971 and a full professor in 1973. At Princeton, he continued his work on protein biochemistry. He eventually managed to rebuild a DNA copying system in a test tube using seven purified proteins.
Work at University of California, San Francisco
In 1976, Alberts moved to the University of California, San Francisco. He became a professor and vice-chair of the biochemistry and biophysics department. In the same year, he and his students successfully added all seven proteins to double-stranded DNA in a special solution. This allowed them to create DNA.
Many more years of research were spent understanding the details of how these seven proteins work together. They discovered that the two main DNA polymerases, which copy different strands of DNA, are linked. This was a big step in understanding DNA synthesis.
In 1978, Alberts was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also held an American Cancer Society Research Professorship from 1981 to 1985. From 1985 to 1990, he was the head of the biochemistry and biophysics department at UCSF.
Science and Education Leadership
Bruce Alberts served as the full-time President of the National Academy of Sciences for two terms, from 1993 to 2005. During this time, he moved to Washington, D.C.
Alberts has always been dedicated to making science education better. He spent a lot of his time on projects like City Science. This program aimed to improve how science is taught in elementary schools in San Francisco. He also served on important advisory boards. These included the National Science Resources Center, which helps teachers and scientists improve science teaching.
When he was president of the National Academy of Sciences, the Academies published many reports on education. These included the National Science Education Standards (1996) and Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (2000). Both reports aimed to change how science is taught from kindergarten through high school. From 2005 to 2024, he led the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP). This non-profit group focuses on research that helps improve education.
The American Society for Cell Biology gives out the Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education in his honor. This award recognizes people who have made amazing contributions to science education.
Alberts has also served on many other advisory and editorial boards. He was president-elect of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology before becoming president of the National Academy of Sciences. From 2007 to 2008, he was president of the American Society for Cell Biology.
He was a trustee for the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 2000 to 2009. He also served as a trustee for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from 2005 to 2021. He and others have pointed out problems in the biomedical research system. They created the Rescuing Biomedical Research organization to find solutions to these issues.
From 2008 to 2013, Alberts was the editor-in-chief of Science, a major publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also one of the first editors of the journal Cell Biology Education. Since 2013, Alberts has been on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education.
International Contributions
From 2000 to 2009, Bruce Alberts was the co-chair of the InterAcademy Council. This was an advisory group in Amsterdam made up of presidents from fifteen science academies worldwide. This organization is now called the InterAcademy Panel for Policy.
In 2009, US President Barack Obama announced a new Science Envoy program. This program aimed to build better relationships between the United States and Muslim-majority countries. In January 2010, Bruce Alberts, Ahmed Zewail, and Elias Zerhouni became the first US science envoys. They visited Muslim-majority countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia.
Awards and Honors
Bruce Alberts is a member of several important groups, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 2014, President Barack Obama presented him with the National Medal of Science.
He has received many awards and honors throughout his career:
- 1975: NAS Award in Molecular Biology. This was for finding proteins needed for DNA replication and how they interact with DNA.
- 1997: Outstanding Educator Award from The Exploratorium in San Francisco.
- 2005: Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
- 2010: Vannevar Bush Award.
- 2010: George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation.
- 2014: National Medal of Science.
- 2014: Centennial Medal from Harvard University.
- 2016: Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science.
- 2022: Sigma Xi Gold Key Award.
