Sheldon M. Schuster (born 1947) is an American biochemist, cancer researcher and academic. He is the current president of

Keck Graduate Institute Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) is a private graduate school in Claremont, California. Founded by Henry Riggs in 1997, it is the seventh and newest member of the Claremont Colleges. History Henry Riggs, then president of Harvey Mudd College, ...

as of 2003. He has previously served as a professor at

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

and

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. While at Florida, he was the director of research and the university's biotechnology program.

Early life

Schuster was born in 1947 in

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

where he was also raised. He attended

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. He went on to attend a doctorate program at

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, graduating in 1974 with a PhD in biochemistry; after which, he conducted postdoctoral research at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Institute for Enzyme Research.

Career

In 1976, Schuster began teaching chemistry and biology at the

. He continued teaching at the university until 1988, when he left to join the faculty of

. Schuster became a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at University of Florida in 1989. In 1992, he went on to become the director of the biotechnology program and also served as the assistant VP of research at the University of Florida (UF). In 2000, while working at the UF Brain Institute, Weihong Tan, Schuster, Jeffery Li and Xiaohong Fang published a study on a synthetic DNA that acts like a photophore. The molecule, which illuminates when exposed to particular other molecules, can potentially be used to detect specific proteins or genes, which could allow for the detection of certain diseases. On July 15, 2003, Schuster became the second president of

(KGI), taking over for the founding president of the institute, Henry E. Riggs. According to the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

, Schuster has helped expand KGI's Professional Science Master's Degree program "to include new centers focused on

bioprocessing Bioprocess engineering, also biochemical engineering, is a specialization of chemical engineering or biological engineering. It deals with the design and development of equipment and processes for the manufacturing of products such as agriculture, ...

rare disease A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discov ...

s, and

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, p ...

s." He is currently one of the editors of the ''Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education'' journal and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has co-founded two pharmaceutical companies, AquaGene and Restoragen (previously known as BioNebraska). Schuster also serves as the vice chairman for the

National Organization for Rare Disorders The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is an American non-profit organization aiming to provide support for individuals with rare diseases by advocating and funding research, education, and networking among service providers. It wa ...

Published work

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References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuster, Sheldon American biochemists 1947 births University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty University of Florida faculty University of California, Davis alumni University of Arizona alumni Date of birth missing (living people) Living people