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Ada Doisy Lectures in Biochemistry

Doisy Speakers

Mark your calendars for April 10–11, 2008!
Thursday April 10 seminar time is yet to be confirmed. Friday April 11 seminar is at noon. Location is Medical Sciences Building auditorium both days. Chris Dobson (Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, England) "Life on the Edge: The Nature and Origins of Protein Misfolding Diseases" David Baker (Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle) "Novel Enzymes, Rapid Structure Determination, and an On-line Computer Game" Abstracts to Both Papers

Doisy Poster
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The Ada Doisy Lectures in Biochemistry were established by the late Edward A. Doisy in honor of his mother Ada Doisy, whom he credited with instilling his love and reverence for learning and inquiry. Edward Doisy (1893-1986) received his Bachelor's degree in 1914 and his Master's degree in 1916 from the University of Illinois; he received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1920.

Dr. Doisy was on the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine from 1920 to 1924. In 1924 he moved to the St. Louis University School of Medicine, to assume the headship of the Department of Biochemistry. He remained Head until his retirement in 1965. Among many contributions to natural products and nutritional chemistry, Dr. Doisy isolated and synthesized vitamin K, and for this work he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1943, shared with Henrik Dam of Denmark. Dr. Doisy was awarded the Illinois Achievement Award by the University of Illinois Alumni Association in 1958, and received an honorary degree from the University of Illinois in 1960. Dr. Doisy endowed the Ada Doisy Lectures in 1970, and it has been the pleasure and good fortune of the Department of Biochemistry to host them annually since then.

The Ada Doisy Lectures are the one of most distinguished lectureships in the life sciences. Doisy Lecturers have been recognized by seventeen Nobel Prizes and one Crafoord Prize, an equivalent to the Nobel Prize for areas not covered by it. Twelve of these awards were announced after invitation as Doisy Lecturers.

2007-08	Chris Dobson (Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, England) "Life on the Edge: The Nature and Origins of Protein Misfolding Diseases" David Baker (Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle) "Novel Enzymes, Rapid Structure Determination, and an On-line Computer Game" Abstracts to Both Papers
2006-07	Roger Kornberg (Stanford University Medical School) "The Molecular Basis of Eukaryotic Transcription" C. David Allis (Rockefeller University) "Beyond the Double Helix: Reading and Writing the 'Histone Code'"
2005-06	Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka Professors Lefkowitz and Kobilka are widely recognized for their significant contributions to our understanding of the very large and diverse family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
2004-05	Peter C. Agre and Douglas C. Rees Dr. Agre, from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Dr. Rees, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), are scientific leaders of great distinction, who have made major contributions to our understanding of the functions of cell membranes - the critical, selective barrier between biology and the physical environment.
2003-04	Elizabeth A. Craig and Susan L. Lindquist Dr. Craig, from the University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Lindquist, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Whitehead Institute, are major contributors to our understanding of the functional consequences of protein folding and misfolding, and the roles of chaperone proteins in protein maturation and assembly.
2002-03	Peter B. Moore and Harry F. Noller
2001-02	Janos K. Lanyi and Sir John E. Walker*
2000-01	Willem P. C. Stemmer and Ronald W. Davis
1999-2000	Carl R. Woese† and Norman R. Pace
1998-99	Elizabeth H. Blackburn
1996-97	Ronald M. Evans
1995-96	Richard J. Roberts*
1994-95	Earl W. Davie and John W. Suttie
1993-94	Bert W. O’Malley
1990-91	Edmond H. Fischer* and Edwin G. Krebs*
1989-90	Kurt Wüthrich*
1988-89	J. Michael Bishop* and Harold E. Varmus*
1986-87	Tom Maniatis and Mark Ptashne
1985-86	Stephen J. Benkovic and Jeremy R. Knowles
1984-85	Joan Steitz and Phillip Sharp*
1983-84	Joseph L. Goldstein* and Michael S. Brown*
1980-81	Leroy E. Hood
1979-80	Charles Yanofsky
1978-79	Donald D. Brown and Herbert Boyer
1977-78	Albert L. Lehninger and Efraim Racker
1976-77	Luis F. Leloir*
1974-75	Arthur Kornberg* and Osamu Hayaishi
1973-74	Saul Roseman and Bruce Ames
1972-73	Paul Berg* and Walter Gilbert*
1970-71	Charles Huggins* and Elwood V. Jensen
*Nobel Laureate †Crafoord Prize

Updated March 7, 2007

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Ada Doisy Lectures in Biochemistry