Thomas Michael Jessell (2 August 1951 – 28 April 2019) was the Claire Tow Professor of
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 ...
and
molecular biophysics
Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in terms ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in
New York and a prominent developmental neuroscientist. In 2018, Columbia University announced his termination from his administrative positions after an internal investigation uncovered violations of university policies.
He died shortly after from a rapidly neurodegenerative condition diagnosed as
progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain. The condition leads to symptoms including loss of balance, slowing of movement, difficulty ...
.
Education
Jessell received his PhD in neuroscience from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
PhD in 1977
with
Leslie Iversen
Leslie Lars Iversen (31 October 1937 – 30 July 2020), was a British pharmacologist, known for his work on the neurochemistry of neurotransmission.
Career and research
From 1971 to 1982, Iversen was Director of the MRC Neurochemical P ...
at the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit.
Career and research
After his PhD, he worked as a
postdoctoral
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 ...
fellow at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
with
Gerald Fischbach
Gerald D. Fischbach (born November 15, 1938) is an American neuroscientist. He received his M.D. from the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University in 1965 before beginning his research career at the National Institutes of Health in 196 ...
. In 1981 he became an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
. In 1985 he joined the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
faculty where he worked for the remainder of his career and became Claire Tow Professor of Motor Neuron Disorders (in neuroscience).
[
Jessell is known for his work on chemical ]signals
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
that play a role when nerve cell
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. No ...
s assemble during development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
to form neuronal circuits. In 1994, he showed that netrin
Netrins are a class of proteins involved in axon guidance. They are named after the Sanskrit word "netr", which means "one who guides". Netrins are genetically conserved across nematode worms, fruit flies, frogs, mice, and humans. Structurall ...
guides commissural axons in the vertebrate spinal cord.
Awards
In 1994 Jessell was awarded the NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing
The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "to recognize authors whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a significant service to science and influencing the cours ...
from the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. He was a co-recipient, with Pasko Rakic
Pasko Rakic ( hr, Paško Rakić, ) is a Yugoslav-born American neuroscientist, who presently works in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Neuroscience in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It ...
and Sten Grillner
Sten Grillner (born 14 June 1941, Stockholm) is a Swedish neurophysiologist and distinguished professor at the Karolinska Institute's Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology in Stockholm where he is the director of that institute. He is considered o ...
, of the inaugural Kavli Prize
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and recognizes scientists for outstan ...
for Neuroscience in 2008. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1996. He won the Ralph W. Gerard Prize from the Society for Neuroscience in 2016. He was a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
.
Books
Jessell is the co-editor, with Eric R. Kandel and James Schwartz, of the well-known textbook Principles of Neural Science
First published in 1981 by Elsevier, ''Principles of Neural Science'' is an influential neuroscience textbook edited by Columbia University professors Eric R. Kandel, James H. Schwartz, and Thomas M. Jessell. The original edition was 468 pages; ...
.
Misconduct investigation and firing
On March 7, 2018, Jessell was removed from his post at Columbia University following what a Columbia statement described as "an investigation that revealed serious violations of university policies and values governing the behavior of faculty members in an academic environment". The university did not give details of the nature of the violations. His appointment as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...
, which he had held since 1985, was also ended. The ''Columbia Daily Spectator
The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as the ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after ''The Harvard Crimson'', and has ...
'' reported on April 12 that Jessell "was engaged in a relationship with a lab member under his supervision for years, violating University policies on consensual romantic and sexual relationships, before being removed from all administrative posts this past March". The newspaper subsequently reported that Jessell "was removed from his administrative post, following an investigation that found him responsible for sexual misconduct". It is reported Jessell was suffering symptoms of an aggressive neurodegenerative disease during this period.
References
External links
Jessell's Faculty Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessell, Thomas
1951 births
2019 deaths
American biochemists
Science teachers
Columbia University faculty
Columbia Medical School faculty
British emigrants to the United States
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Royal Society
Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
Kavli Prize laureates in Neuroscience
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Members of the National Academy of Medicine