Helen Donis-Keller

Helen Donis-Keller is the Michael E. Moody Professor and Professor of Biology and Art at Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts. Originally working as a graphic designer for Lakehead University, her interest in science began after enrolling in biology and chemistry classes at the university for fun.^[1]

Helen R. Donis-Keller
Alma mater	Harvard University
Scientific career
Institutions	Olin College of Engineering
Thesis	Enzymatic RNA sequencing and fractionation methods (1979)
Doctoral advisor	Walter Gilbert

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.^[2] After employment at the biotechnology companies Biogen and Collaborative Research, she joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine.^[3][4] 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.^[2] In 2012, she was named the Michael. E. Moody Faculty Chair.^[5]

Research

Donis-Keller's graduate research established a method to do RNA sequencing.^[6][7][8] During her time at Collaborative Research, her research group created the first genetic map of the human genome.^[9] 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.^[10][11] She continued to work on the genetic linkage map^[12] and led research into understanding the genetic basis of cystic fibrosis,^[13] thyroid cancer,^[14] and breast cancer.^[15][16]

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)^[17]
• 2023 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science^[18]

Art

In addition to teaching art at Olin,^[3] Donis-Keller is herself an artist, and her art can be seen at Needham's 2021 Open Studios event^[19] and other venues.^[20][21][22] 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.^[23]