Iain Mattaj facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Iain Mattaj
FRS FRSE
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Mattaj in 2019
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| Born | 5 October 1952 St Andrews, Scotland
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| Alma mater | |
| Awards | Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2001), Verdienstkreuz (2021) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry, Molecular Cell Biology |
| Institutions | Human Technopole, European Molecular Biology Laboratory |
| Thesis | Studies on cloned GDH genes (1980) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Wooton |
| Notable students | Elisa Izaurralde, postdoctoral researcher (1990-1996), Martin Hetzer, postdoctoral researcher (1998-2003), Katharina Ribbeck (2003-2006), Tobias Walther (1998-2002) |
Iain William Mattaj was born on October 5, 1952, in St Andrews, Scotland. He is a British scientist and an Honorary Professor at Heidelberg University in Germany. He is also a FRS and a FRSE.
From 2005 to 2018, Professor Mattaj was the Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). In January 2019, he became the first Director of Human Technopole. This is a new Italian institute for life sciences located in Milan, Italy.
Learning and Early Career
Professor Mattaj earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Edinburgh. He then received his PhD from the University of Leeds in 1980. His research focused on special genes called "cloned Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) genes."
After his PhD, he did more research, called postdoctoral research. He worked at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland and then at the Biocentre, University of Basel. There, he worked with Eddy De Robertis and started the important research areas he would continue to study.
In 1985, he joined EMBL in Heidelberg. He started as a Group Leader. Over the years, he took on more leadership roles. He became the Coordinator of the Gene Expression Unit in 1990. Then, in 1999, he became the Scientific Director of EMBL. Finally, in 2005, he was appointed Director General of EMBL.
Discoveries in Cell Biology
Professor Mattaj has made many important discoveries about how tiny parts of our cells work. His research helps us understand how RNA (a molecule like DNA) and proteins move around inside a cell. Specifically, he studied how they travel between the cell nucleus (the cell's control center) and the cytoplasm (the jelly-like substance filling the cell).
His early work focused on how special RNA-protein complexes (groups of RNA and proteins) enter and leave the cell nucleus.
Later, Professor Mattaj discovered the role of special enzymes called GTPases. These enzymes help control mitosis. Mitosis is the process where a cell's nucleus divides into two new nuclei. This is how cells grow and repair themselves. He found that a specific GTPase called Ran helps reshape the cell's internal structure to form the mitotic spindle. This spindle is crucial for cell division. Ran also helps build the nuclear envelope (the membrane around the nucleus) after mitosis. By understanding Ran's role, his work helps other scientists develop better ways to help cells regenerate and heal.
Recognitions and Achievements
Professor Mattaj has received many awards and honors for his scientific work.
- In 1999, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
- He also became a Fellow of Academia Europaea in 1999.
- In 2000, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
- In 2005, he was elected a Fellow of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina.
- He became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FmedSci) in 2016.
- In 2017, he was named a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).
In 2001, he received the prestigious Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. He has also received honorary doctorates from several universities, including the University of Edinburgh, the University of Dundee, Umea University, and the University of Leeds.
From 1991 to 2004, he was an Editor for the EMBO Journal, a scientific publication. Since 2017, he has been the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Darwin Trust. In September 2021, Professor Mattaj was awarded the Verdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) for his dedication to science. In the same month, he was also elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
