Benjamin D. Hall
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Benjamin Downs Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 9, 1932 Berkeley, California, United States |
| Died | April 2, 2019 Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas (BS , 1954) Harvard University (PhD, 1959) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Genomics |
| Institutions | University of Illinois, University of Washington |
Benjamin Downs Hall was an American human genetics researcher. He was professor of genetics and botany at the University of Washington. Hall is best known for developing methods for producing vaccines and other bio-pharmecuticals using transgenic yeast[1].
Biography
Hall was born in Berkeley, California. His family moved to Lawrence, Kansas in 1944. There he met his future wife, Margaret Ann Black, in the 7th grade[1]. Upon graduating with a degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1954[2]. Hall and Margaret married before departing for Munich, Germany under the support of Hall’s Fulbright Scholarship[1].
Hall died in Seattle, Washington on April 2, 2019[1].
Work
Hall’s graduate thesis research identified the two major RNAs (18S and 28S) of the eukaryotic ribosome[2]. After accepting a faculty appointment at the University of Illinois in 1958, Hall conducted studies of the RNA generated by T4 phage when infecting E. coli. By developing molecular hybridization techniques, he demonstrated that such RNAs had complementary sequences to those of the bacteriophage DNA[3][2], providing the first direct evidence for the existence of messenger RNA[4].
In 1963 Hall joined the faculty of the Department of Genetics at the University of Washington. Hall's accomplishments included the first demonstration of linkage between a DNA polymorphism and a phenotype, and production of the first DNA sequence of a mutant eukaryotic gene[4]. Hall's group also conducted studies of transcription by S. cerevisiae RNA Polymerases[2], identifying that several yeast RNA polymerases shared structural and functional similarity with those from plants and animals[5].
Based on these findings, Hall and colleagues developed methods for the expression of genetically engineered proteins in yeast[5]. This technology established Saccharomyces as a facile organism for production of recombinant vaccines (including Hepatitis B and Human Papilloma virus vaccines) and other proteins having pharmaceutical value, including insulin[2].
Hall co-founded of ZymoGenetics (then Zymos) in 1981, which was one of Seattle’s first biotechnology companies[5].
Later in his career Hall studied the molecular systematics, taxonomy, and evolutionary history of fungi and flowering plants[2][5], and accepted a part time position in the department of botany.[6] In collaboration with Jay Shendure’s laboratory, Hall’s group determined the genome sequence of the Rhododendron species R. williamsianum.[7]
The Benjamin D. Hall Interdisciplinary Research Building at the University of Washington was dedicated in Hall's honor in 2006.[5]
Honors
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 1961[8]
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2010[4]
- National Academy of Sciences, 2014
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Benjamin Hall Obituary (2019) - Seattle, WA - The Seattle Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Benjamin D. Hall". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ↑ 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. doi:10.1073/pnas.47.8.1135. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 223110. PMID 16590863.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Benjamin D. Hall". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "In Remembrance: Dr. Benjamin D. Hall (1932-2019)". Washington Research Foundation. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ↑ "UW Genome Sciences: Ben Hall". www.gs.washington.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
- ↑ 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. ISSN 1759-6653. PMC 6907397. PMID 31702783.
- ↑ "Benjamin D. Hall". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation... Retrieved 2023-08-11.
External links
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