 | Dieter Söll |
Dieter G. Söll, the newly appointed Henry Ford II Professor or Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B), focuses his research on genetic, molecular, biological and biochemical studies of
the function of transfer RNAs in various organisms.
His laboratory has investigated and analyzed specific proteins and enzymes involved in the translation of genetic information, resulting in new insights into the evolution of the translation system and the genetic code. In 2000, Söll and his research team discovered that a single enzyme found in certain organisms is capable of providing two amino acids in protein synthesis -- a finding which may help scientists develop improved antibiotics. It also called into question a long-held principle for protein synthesis.
Söll has also studied E. coli bacteria in an effort to understand key chemical interactions and the role of transfer RNA during the first step of heme biosynthesis. In plants, he has studied the regulation of the expression of proteins that bind a major plant hormone.
The author of nine books and nearly 400 scientific articles, Söll spearheaded international efforts in the 1980s to adopt a common computer database and format for recording masses of genetic information gleaned in the worldwide initiative to decipher the entire human genome. He undertook this effort while serving as chair of the International Advisory Committee for DNA Sequence Databases. Earlier in his career, he helped draw national attention to the dangers of genetic engineering research, particularly experiments using hybrid molecules. His and other scientists' concerns ultimately led to federal guidelines for genetic research.
A native of Germany, Söll earned undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin's Institute for Enzyme Research and served as an assistant professor there 1965-1967. He joined the Yale faculty as an associate professor in MB&B in 1967, was promoted to a full professsorship in the department in 1976 and became a professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Department of Chemistry in 1995 and 1995, respectively. He was chair of MB&B 1982-1984.
Söll's honors include a 1988 Humboldt Preis (Senior Distinguished Scientist Award). He was named a Humboldt Fellow in 2000. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and has been a member of many federal advisory panels and committees responsible for the examination of issues related to genetic research.
T H I S
Dieter Söll is designated as
Henry Ford II Professor in MB&B
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