Eric Lander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric Lander
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Lander in 2023
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| 11th Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy | |
| In office June 2, 2021 – February 18, 2022 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Kei Koizumi (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Alondra Nelson (acting) |
| Science Advisor to the President | |
| In office January 25, 2021 – February 18, 2022 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Kei Koizumi (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Francis Collins (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 3, 1957 New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lori Lander |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Wolfson College, Oxford (MSc, DPhil) |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (1987) Dickson Prize (1997) Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service (1998) Max Delbrück Medal (2001) Gairdner Award (2002) Harvey Prize (2012) Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013) William Allan Award (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Broad Institute Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Topics in Algebraic Coding Theory (1980) |
| Doctoral advisor | Peter Cameron |
| Doctoral students | Julie Segre Kenro Kusumi Manolis Kellis Erez Lieberman Aiden Mark Daly |
Eric Steven Lander, born on February 3, 1957, is an American scientist. He is a mathematician and a geneticist. He teaches biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also teaches at Harvard Medical School. Eric Lander helped start the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is now its founding director emeritus.
Lander worked for President Joe Biden. He was the 11th director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He was also the Science Advisor to the President. This job was part of the President's top team, called the presidential Cabinet. Lander resigned from his role on February 18, 2022. This happened after some concerns were raised about how he spoke to his colleagues. He apologized for causing hurt to others.
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Early Life and Education
Eric Lander was born in Brooklyn, New York City. His parents were Jewish. His mother, Rhoda G. Lander, was a social studies teacher. His father, Harold Lander, was a lawyer.
High School and Early Achievements
Lander was the captain of the math team at Stuyvesant High School. He graduated in 1974 as the top student. He also won a Silver Medal for the U.S. at the International Mathematical Olympiad. When he was 17, he wrote a paper about special numbers. This paper helped him win the Westinghouse Science Talent Search.
University Studies
Lander went to Princeton University. He graduated in 1978 with a degree in Mathematics. He was the top student in his class. He then studied at Wolfson College, Oxford in England. He was a Rhodes Scholar. There, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree. His studies focused on complex math topics.
Career in Science
During his career, Lander has studied many things about human genes. He looked at how genes vary among people. He also studied human population history. He researched how genomes change over time. His work includes studying parts of DNA that don't make proteins. He also looked at how the human genome folds in 3D.
From Math to Genetics
Lander started his career as a mathematician. He enjoyed math but wanted to do something different. He taught economics for a short time. Then, his brother, Arthur Lander, suggested he look into neurobiology. This led him to study cells and eventually genetics. He said he was still trying to "get the genetics right."
Lander met David Botstein, a geneticist at MIT. Botstein was trying to understand how small gene differences cause diseases. These diseases include cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Lander and Botstein worked together. They created a computer program to study gene maps.
In 1986, Lander joined the Whitehead Institute. He became a professor at MIT. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 1987. In 1990, he started the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research (WICGR). This center became a top place for genome research. It made big steps in studying mammal genomes. This work also helped create the Broad Institute, which Lander led.
The Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project was a huge effort. Its goal was to map all the genes in humans. This information was made public for everyone to use. Many research groups worldwide worked on it. Another group, Celera Genomics, also worked on sequencing the human genome. They planned to charge for access to their data.
The Human Genome Project started first. It moved slowly at the beginning. When Celera began its work in 1998, the public project sped up. Scientists wanted to make sure the human genome information was free. Lander pushed the Human Genome Project scientists to work faster. They wanted to publish gene parts before Celera.
In February 2001, both groups published their first drafts of the human genome. The Human Genome Project's work appeared in Nature magazine. Celera's work was in Science magazine. In the Nature publication, Lander was listed as the first author.
After the Human Genome Project
Lander is the founding director of the Broad Institute. This institute is a partnership between MIT, Harvard, and other hospitals. Its main goal is to use genomics to understand diseases. It also aims to find cures faster. Lander has found important facts about cancer. He also supports new ways to treat diseases. He is known for helping the Broad Institute grow quickly.
During President Obama's time, Lander helped lead a science advisory group. This group was called the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
Science Advisor to the President
In 2009, President Obama chose Lander to co-chair PCAST. He served in this role until 2017.
In January 2021, President-elect Joe Biden chose Lander for a new role. He nominated Lander to be the Science Advisor to the President. President Biden also decided to make this job part of his top team, the Cabinet. Some groups raised concerns about Lander's past behavior. Despite this, the Senate confirmed his nomination. He was sworn in on June 2, 2021. He took his oath using a very old book called the Pirkei Avot.
On February 7, 2022, news reports came out. They said that some staff members had concerns about Lander's behavior. Lander apologized to his team. He said he was "devastated" that he had caused hurt. He resigned from his position on February 7.
Return to Academia
Since 2023, Eric Lander has returned to his teaching jobs. He is a professor at MIT and Harvard. He is also back at the Broad Institute. He is a Core Institute Member and Founding Director Emeritus there. In 2023, Lander started a non-profit group. It is called Science for America. This group focuses on big science goals. These goals include things like nuclear fusion and cancer research.
Awards and Recognition
Eric Lander has received many awards for his work.
- In 1999, he received the Golden Plate Award. This award is from the American Academy of Achievement.
- In 2004, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people. This was for his work on the Human Genome Project.
- In 2012, he received the Dan David Prize.
- In 2013, Lander won the first Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.
- In 2016, he was ranked as a top biomedical researcher. This was by an AI program called Semantic Scholar.
- In 2017, he received an honorary doctorate degree. This was from the Université catholique de Louvain. He also received the William Allan Award. This award is from the American Society of Human Genetics.
- In 2020, Pope Francis made him a member of the Pontifical Academy of Science.
