Helen Donis-Keller is the Michael E. Moody Professor and Professor of Biology and Art at Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts.
Helen R. Donis-Keller | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Olin College of Engineering |
| Thesis | Enzymatic RNA sequencing and fractionation methods (1979) |
Education and career
Donis-Keller has a B.Sc. and an H.B.Sc. from Lakehead University. She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University under the direction of Walter Gilbert in 1979.[1] After employment at the biotechnology companies Biogen and Collaborative Research, she joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine.[2][3] In 2001, she earn an MFA in studio art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University[citation needed] and she joined the faculty at the Olin College of Engineering.[1] In 2012, she was named the Michael. E. Moody Faculty Chair.[4]
Research
Donis-Keller's graduate research established a method to do RNA sequencing.[5][6][7] During her time at Collaborative Research, her research group created the first genetic map of the human genome.[8] Donis-Keller was unable to secure either NIH or venture funding for generating the RFLP map, but convinced Collaborative Research's management to fund the project.[9][10] She continued to work on the genetic linkage map[11] and led research into understanding the genetic basis of cystic fibrosis,[12] thyroid cancer,[13] and breast cancer.[14][15]
Selected publications
- Donis-Keller, Helen; Maxam, Allan M.; Gilbert, Walter (1977). "Mapping adenines, guanines, and pyrimidines in RNA". Nucleic Acids Research. 4 (8): 2527–2538. doi:10.1093/nar/4.8.2527. ISSN 0305-1048. PMC 342589. PMID 409999.
- Doniskeller, H (October 1987). "A genetic linkage map of the human genome". Cell. 51 (2): 319–337. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(87)90158-9. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 3664638. S2CID 7230640.
- Donis-Keller, Helen; Dou, Shenshen; Chi, David; Carlson, Katrin M.; Toshima, Koji; Lairmore, Terry C.; Howe, James R.; Moley, Jeffrey F.; Goodfellow, Paul; Wells, Samuel A. (1993). "Mutations in the RET proto-oncogene are associated with MEN 2A and FMTC". Human Molecular Genetics. 2 (7): 851–856. doi:10.1093/hmg/2.7.851. ISSN 0964-6906. PMID 8103403.
Awards
- Doctor of Science Degree (Honoris Causa) from Lakehead University (1995)[16]
Art
In addition to teaching art at Olin,[2] Donis-Keller is herself an artist, and her art can be seen at Needham's 2021 Open Studios event[17] and other venues.[18][19][20] Her Ph.D. advisor, Walter Gilbert, has also begun to investigate the intersection between art and science though, in a 2015 interview, Donis-Keller did not recall his interest in art while she was a student in his lab.[21]
References
External links
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