Sir John Edward Sulston (27 March 1942 – 6 March 2018) was a British biologist and academic who won the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...
for his work on the cell lineage and
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
of the worm ''
Caenorhabditis elegans
''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' (r ...
'' in 2002 with his colleagues
Sydney Brenner and
Robert Horvitz. He was a leader in human genome research and Chair of the
Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...
.
Sulston was in favour of science in the public interest, such as free public access of scientific information and against the patenting of genes and the privatisation of genetic technologies.
[Ivan Oransky, Adam Marcu]
John Sulston. obituary
7 April 2018, The Lancet
Early life and education
Sulston was born in
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England
to Arthur Edward Aubrey Sulston and Josephine Muriel Frearson, née Blocksidge.
His father was an Anglican priest and administrator of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518).
It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Pa ...
. His mother quit her job as an English teacher at
Watford Grammar School, to care for him and his sister Madeleine.
and home-tutored them until he was five. At age five he entered the local preparatory school, York House School, where he soon developed an aversion to games. He developed an early interest in science, having fun with dissecting animals and sectioning plants to observe their structure and function.
Sulston won a scholarship to
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Small things grow in harmony
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, closed =
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map =
, type = Independent day school
, religion = Church ...
and then to
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
graduating in 1963 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in
Natural Sciences (Chemistry). He joined the
Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, after being interviewed by
Alexander Todd[ and was awarded his ]PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
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* '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
in 1966 for research in nucleotide
Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecu ...
chemistry.[ ]
Career
Between 1966 and 1969 he worked as a postdoctoral researcher
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...
at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, U.S. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio va ...
in La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
, California.[ His academic advisor Colin Reese][ had arranged for him to work with Leslie Orgel, who would turn his scientific career onto a different pathway. Orgel introduced him to ]Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the helical stru ...
and Sydney Brenner, who worked in Cambridge. He became inclined to biological research.[
Although Orgel wanted Sulston to remain with him, Sydney Brenner persuaded Sulston to return to Cambridge to work on the neurobiology of '']Caenorhabditis elegans
''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' (r ...
'' at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute in Cambridge, England, involved in the revolution in molecular biology which occurred in the 1950–60s. Since then it has remained a major medical r ...
(LMB). Sulston soon produced the complete map of the worm's neurons. He continued work on its DNA and subsequently the whole genome sequencing. In 1998, the whole genome sequence was published in collaboration with the Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis,
so that ''C. elegans'' became the first animal to have its complete genome sequenced.
Sulston played a central role in both the ''C. elegans'' and human genome
The human genome is a complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. These are usually treated separately as the ...
sequencing projects. He had argued successfully for the sequencing of ''C. elegans'' to show that large-scale genome sequencing projects were feasible. As sequencing of the worm genome proceeded, the Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both ...
began. At this point he was made director of the newly established Sanger Centre (named after Fred Sanger), located in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...
, England.
In 2000, after the 'working draft' of the human genome sequence was completed, Sulston retired from directing the Sanger Centre. With Georgina Ferry, he narrated his research career leading to the human genome sequence in ''The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, and the Human Genome'' (2002).
Awards and honours
Sulston was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1986.[ --] His certificate of election reads: He was elected an EMBO Member in 1989 and awarded the George W. Beadle Award in 2000. In 2001 Sulston gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sc ...
on ''The Secrets of Life''. In 2002, he won the Dan David Prize and the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award. Later, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...
with Sydney Brenner and Robert Horvitz, both of whom he had collaborated with at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), for their discoveries concerning 'genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death'.
One of Sulston's most important contributions during his research years at the LMB was to elucidate the precise order in which cells in ''C. elegans'' divide. In fact, he and his team succeeded in tracing the nematode's entire embryonic cell lineage.
In 2004, Sulston received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...
. In 2006, he was awarded the George Dawson Prize in Genetics by Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. In 2013, Sulston was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a c ...
's Rutherford Memorial Lecture
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application.
It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...
, which he gave on the subject of population pressure.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honours
The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...
for services to science and society.
On 23 October 2017 he was awarded the Cambridge Chemistry Alumni Medal.
Sulston was a leading campaigner against the patenting of human genetic information.
Personal life
John Sulston met Daphne Bate, a research assistant in Cambridge. They got married in 1966 just before they left for US for postdoctoral research. Together they had two children. Their first child, Ingrid, was born in La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
in 1967, and their second, Adrian, later in England. The couple lived in Stapleford, Cambridgeshire
Stapleford is a village located approximately 4 miles to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England on the right-hand bank of the River Granta. Stapleford is first mentioned in 956 when it was given the Latinise ...
where they were active members of the local community: John regularly volunteered in the local library and in working parties at Magog Down Magog may refer to:
In the Bible
* Magog (Bible), a grandson of Noah in the Old Testament
* Gog and Magog, a Biblical pair
Fictional people
* Magog, of Gog and Magog (statues) in Guildhall, London
* Magog ("Magos"), appearing with Gog ("Gos"), ...
; he was a Trustee of Cambridge Past, Present and Future.
Although brought up in a Christian family, Sulston lost his faith during his student life at Cambridge, and remained an atheist.[ He was a distinguished supporter of ]Humanists UK
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
. In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel Laureates who signed the Humanist Manifesto.
Sulston was in favour of free public access of scientific information. He wanted genome information freely available, and he described as "totally immoral and disgusting" the idea of profiteering from such research. He also wanted to change patent law, and argued that restrictions on drugs such as the anti-viral drug Tamiflu
Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complications or are at hi ...
by Roche are a hindrance to patients whose lives are dependent on them.[
In December 2010, Sulston backed ]Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army int ...
by acting as a bail surety for him, according to Assange's attorney Mark Stephens. Sulston forfeited £15,000 of the £20,000 pledged in June 2012, as Assange had entered the embassy of Ecuador to escape the jurisdiction of the English courts.
Sulston died on 6 March 2018 of stomach cancer, aged 75 years.[
]
References
External links
Freeview Video of Fredrick Sanger in conversation with John Sulston by the Vega Science Trust
* ttps://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1131145 John Sulston interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 16 September 2008 (video)*
The public servant: John Sulston
British Scientists share 2002 Nobel Prize
from ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''
John Sulston profile
on the Stapleford Cambridge website where he lives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulston, John
1942 births
2018 deaths
British Nobel laureates
Fellows of the Royal Society
British humanists
English atheists
English former Christians
Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine
Academics of the University of Manchester
Knights Bachelor
Wellcome Trust
English Nobel laureates
Human Genome Project scientists
Caenorhabditis elegans
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
People from South Bucks District