Ptashne, Mark
Biography
Mark Ptashne, born in Chicago on June 5, 1940, is a molecular biologist who has focused on gene regulation throughout his career. He earned his undergraduate degree at Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1961 and his PhD from Harvard in 1968, afterwards joining the Harvard faculty. In 1971, he was made a professor. In 1980 he became the Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and in 1993 he was awarded an endowed chair. He left Harvard in 1997 for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he is currently the Ludwig Chair of Molecular Biology.
Ptashne’s work has been the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of the lytic and lysogenic life cycles of bacteriophage lambda. He was the first scientist to demonstrate bindings between protein and DNA, and is the originator of the “ball and stick” model of transcription factor functions. This demonstrates how bacteria and yeast typically consist of regions that mediate DNA binding and interaction with transcriptional activators or repressors.
In addition to his scientific work with bacteriophage lambda and gene regulation, Ptashne also co-founded Genetics Institute, Inc. with Thomas Maniatis, at the time considered a controversial move by a Harvard scientist.
He holds multiple awards for his work, including the 1985 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1997, and the Massry Prize from the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California in 1998. He has written multiple books, including “Gene and Signals” and “A Genetic Switch.”
Found in 55 Collections and/or Records:
Ptashne, Mark (includes speech given at JDW's 80th Birthday), 1998-2001; 2008
Ptashne, Mark (photocopies), 1966 - 1973
Sub-Series I: Chronological Files, Set 1, April-May 1981
Thomas Maniatis, 2003-03-22
James D. Watson Collection
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