Benjamin Downs "Ben" Hallwas an American human genetics researcher. He was professor of genetics and botany at theUniversity of Washington.Hall is best known for developing methods for producing vaccines and other bio-pharmecuticals usingtransgenicyeast.[1]
Benjamin Downs Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 9, 1932 Berkeley, California,United States |
| Died | (aged 87) Seattle, Washington,United States |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas(BS, 1954) Harvard University(PhD, 1959) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Genetics Genomics Molecular Biology Bioengineering |
| Institutions | University of Illinois University of Washington |
Biography
editHall was born inBerkeley, California.His family moved toLawrence, Kansasin 1944. There he met his future wife, Margaret Ann Black, in the 7th grade.[1]Upon graduating with a degree in chemistry from theUniversity of Kansasin 1954,[2]Hall and Margaret married before departing forMunich, Germanyunder the support of Hall'sFulbright Scholarship.[1]Hall returned to the US in 1955 and he earned his doctorate inBiophysical ChemistryfromHarvard Universityin 1959.[1][2]
In 1963, Hall joined theUniversity of WashingtonGenetics Department. He became the chair of the department in 1980, succeeding the founding chair,Herschel Roman.[3]Hall remained on the faculty until his retirement in 2007.
Hall died inSeattle, Washingtonon April 2, 2019.[1]
Work
editHall's graduate thesis research identified the two major RNAs (18S and 28S) of the eukaryoticribosome,[2]under the mentorship ofPaul M. Doty.[3]After accepting a faculty appointment at theUniversity of Illinoisin 1958, Hall conducted studies of the RNA generated byT4 phagewhen infectingE. coli.By developing molecularhybridizationtechniques, his lab demonstrated that such RNAs had complementary sequences to those of the bacteriophage DNA,[4][2]providing the first direct evidence for the existence ofmessenger RNA.[5]
In 1963 Hall joined the faculty of the Department of Genetics at the University of Washington. Hall's subsequent accomplishments included the first demonstration of linkage between a DNA polymorphism and a phenotype, the discovery oftRNA introns,and production of the first DNA sequence of amutanteukaryotic gene.[3][5][6]
Hall's group also conducted studies of transcription byS. cerevisiaeRNA Polymerases,[2]identifying that several yeast RNA polymerases shared structural and functional similarity with those present in plants and animals.[7]Based on these findings, Hall and colleagues developed methods for the expression of genetically engineered proteins in yeast.[7]This technology established Saccharomyces as a facile organism for production of recombinantvaccines(includingHepatitis BandHuman Papilloma virusvaccines) and other proteins having pharmaceutical value, includinginsulin.[2]
Hall co-founded ofZymoGenetics(then Zymos) in 1981, which was one of Seattle's first biotechnology companies.[7][8]
Later in his career Hall studied the molecular systematics, taxonomy, and evolutionary history of fungi and flowering plants,[2][7]and accepted a part time position in the department of botany.[9]In collaboration withJay Shendure’s laboratory, Hall's group determined the genome sequence of theRhododendronspeciesR. williamsianum.[10]
The Benjamin D. Hall Interdisciplinary Research Building at the University of Washington was dedicated in Hall's honor in 2006.[7]
Honors
editReferences
edit- ^abcde"Benjamin Hall Obituary (2019)".The Seattle Times.Retrieved2023-08-11– via Legacy.
- ^abcdefg"Benjamin D. Hall".nasonline.org.Retrieved2023-08-11.
- ^abcDr. Ben Hall - November 1, 2011,retrieved2023-09-12
- ^Spiegelman, S.; Hall, B. D.; Storck, R. (August 1961)."The Occurrence of Natural Dna-Rna Complexes in E. Coli Infected with T2".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.47(8): 1135–1141.Bibcode:1961PNAS...47.1135S.doi:10.1073/pnas.47.8.1135.ISSN0027-8424.PMC223110.PMID16590863.
- ^abc"Benjamin D. Hall".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.Retrieved2023-08-11.
- ^Goodman, H M; Olson, M V; Hall, B D (December 1977)."Nucleotide sequence of a mutant eukaryotic gene: the yeast tyrosine-inserting ochre suppressor SUP4-o".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.74(12): 5453–5457.Bibcode:1977PNAS...74.5453G.doi:10.1073/pnas.74.12.5453.ISSN0027-8424.PMC431761.PMID341157.
- ^abcde"In Remembrance: Dr. Benjamin D. Hall (1932-2019)".Washington Research Foundation.Retrieved2023-08-11.
- ^Dr. Ben Hall - November 1, 2011,retrieved2023-09-09
- ^"UW Genome Sciences: Ben Hall".gs.washington.edu.Retrieved2023-08-12.
- ^Soza, Valerie L.; Lindsley, Dale; Waalkes, Adam; Ramage, Elizabeth; Patwardhan, Rupali P.; Burton, Joshua N.; Adey, Andrew; Kumar, Akash; Qiu, Ruolan; Shendure, Jay; Hall, Benjamin (2019-12-01)."The Rhododendron Genome and Chromosomal Organization Provide Insight into Shared Whole-Genome Duplications across the Heath Family (Ericaceae)".Genome Biology and Evolution.11(12): 3353–3371.doi:10.1093/gbe/evz245.ISSN1759-6653.PMC6907397.PMID31702783.
- ^"Benjamin D. Hall".John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation...Retrieved2023-08-11.