Background
Leder, Philip was born on November 19, 1934 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
(This volume provides an overview of the defining concepts...)
This volume provides an overview of the defining concepts and techniques of molecular medicine. Individual chapters emphasize how recent developments in molecular genetics are likely to affect contemporary medical practice or afford further opportunities for medical intervention. The contributors focus on fundamental concepts. The initial chapters review human genetics, discussing how genes are organized and how their information is transmitted from one generation to the next. Subsequent chapters deal with basic information about DNA, RNA and the ultimate building blocks of life, the proteins. The text also includes discussions on gene cloning and the Human Genome Project.
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geneticist university professor
Leder, Philip was born on November 19, 1934 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States.
And studied at Harvard University, graduating in 1956. In 1960, he graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his medical residency at the University of Minnesota.
He is perhaps best known for his early work with Marshall Nirenberg in the elucidation of the genetic code and the Nirenberg and Leder experiment. Since that landmark experiment, he has made several groundbreaking contributions in the fields of molecular genetics, immunology and the genetic basis of cancer. His group was the first to define the base sequence of a complete mammalian gene (the gene for betaglobin) which enabled him to determine its organization in detail, including its associated control signals.
His research into the structure of genes which carry the code for antibody molecules was of pioneering significance.
The main focus of this inquiry was the question of how the enormous diversity of antibody molecules are formed by a limited number of encoded genes. Leder"s work on antibody genes was later extended to research into Burkitt"s lymphoma, a tumour of antibody-producing cells, which involves the oncogene c-myc.
This was crucial in understanding the origin of this type of tumor. In 1988, Leder and Timothy Stewart were granted the first patent on a genetically engineered animal.
This animal, a mouse which had genes injected into its embryo to increase susceptibility to cancer, became known as the "oncomouse" and has been used in the laboratory study of cancer therapy.
In 1968, Leder headed the Biochemistry Department of the Graduate Program of the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences at the National Institute of Health. He retired from this position in 2008.
(This volume provides an overview of the defining concepts...)
Honorary trustee Massachusetts General Hospital. Trustee, chairman board Charles A. Revson Foundation. Trustee Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, Hadassah Medical Organization.
Fellow: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Member: Institute Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.
Married; 3 children.