John G. White (biologist)

For other people called John White, see John White.

John White
FRS
Born
John Graham White

1943 (age 80–81)[3]
Wales
Alma mater
Known forResearch using Caenorhabditis elegans
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisComputer aided reconstruction of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans (1975)
Doctoral advisorSydney Brenner
Doctoral studentsRichard Durbin[4]
Other notable students
Websitedirectory.engr.wisc.edu/bme/faculty/white_john Edit this at Wikidata

John Graham White FRS[7] (born 1943)[3] is an Emeritus Professor of Anatomy and Molecular Biology[3][2][8] at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[9][10][11] His research interests are in the biology of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and laser microscopy.[12]

Education

White was educated at Brunel University, where he was awarded an undergraduate degree in Physics in 1969.[3] He went on to study for his PhD[13] at University of Cambridge in 1975 for work on computer-aided reconstruction of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans supervised by Sydney Brenner.[3]

Research and career

After working at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, White moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1993.[3] White's research investigates cell division in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.[14][15][16][17][18] With collaborators Sydney Brenner,[19][20] John Sulston[21] and others, White co-developed confocal microscopy and mapped the complete nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans, consisting of 302 neurons and over 7000 synapses. The study was published in 1986 by the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society,[20] and is considered[by whom?] to be the first work in the emerging field of connectomes. More recently his research used:

two collaborative but distinct laboratories, one a biological laboratory that investigates cell division in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and the other an interdisciplinary Biophotonics Instrumentation laboratory that develops new computational and optical techniques for live cell studies.[2]

White identified the first gene with a demonstrated role in determining synaptic specificity. He studied the role of cell–cell interaction in determining the lineage pattern, stimulating a wide field of research. In more recent work, White and his co-workers partially confirmed his earlier model of cytokinesis; they discovered genes controlling cytokinesis and found features previously thought specific to plant cell division. Recognising the potentialities of laser-scanning confocal microscopy, White built a prototype microscope: with Brad Amos he developed this into a commercially produced instrument now widely used.[7] His former doctoral students include Richard Durbin, [4] other notable former students include Ahna Skop, Julie Ahringer[5] and Tony Hyman.[6]

Awards and honours

White was the recipient of the Mullard Award in 1994. He was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 1994[1] and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2005.[7]

The Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts a biennial seminar series named in honor of John White. Featured speakers have included:

Personal life

White has been professor emeritus since he retired in 2008.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Anon (1994). "John G. White". people.embo.org.
  2. ^ a b c "White, John - UW-Engineering Directory, College of Engineering @ The University of Wisconsin-Madison". Archived from the original on 9 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i White, J. G. (2013). "Getting into the mind of a worm—a personal view". WormBook: 1–10. doi:10.1895/wormbook.1.158.1. PMC 4781474. PMID 23801597.
  4. ^ a b Durbin, Richard Michael (1987). Studies on the development and organisation of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.233920.
  5. ^ a b Malone, C. J.; Misner, L.; Le Bot, N.; Tsai, M. C.; Campbell, J. M.; Ahringer, J.; White, J. G. (2003). "The C. Elegans hook protein, ZYG-12, mediates the essential attachment between the centrosome and nucleus". Cell. 115 (7): 825–836. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(03)00985-1. PMID 14697201. S2CID 2605372.
  6. ^ a b Anon (2022). "Anthony Hyman: Group Leader". mpi-cbg.de. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics.
  7. ^ a b c Anon (2005). "Dr John White FRS". London: royalsociety.org. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:

    "All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." --"Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ John G. White publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
  9. ^ Squirrell, J. M.; Wokosin, D. L.; White, J. G.; Bavister, B. D. (1999). "Long-term two-photon fluorescence imaging of mammalian embryos without compromising viability". Nature Biotechnology. 17 (8): 763–767. doi:10.1038/11698. PMC 5087329. PMID 10429240.
  10. ^ Kimble, J. E.; White, J. G. (1981). "On the control of germ cell development in Caenorhabditis elegans". Developmental Biology. 81 (2): 208–219. doi:10.1016/0012-1606(81)90284-0. PMID 7202837.
  11. ^ Chalfie, M.; Eddy, S.; Hengartner, M. O.; Hodgkin, J.; Kohara, Y.; Plasterk, R. H.; Waterston, R. H.; White, J. G. (1995). "Genome maps. VI. Caenorhabditis elegans. Wall chart". Science. 270 (5235): 415–430. doi:10.1126/science.270.5235.410. PMID 7569996. S2CID 42933365.
  12. ^ John G. White publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  13. ^ White, John (1975). Computer aided reconstruction of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans. cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. OCLC 500588370. EThOS 477040. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  14. ^ Hyman, A. A.; White, J. G. (1987). "Determination of cell division axes in the early embryogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans". The Journal of Cell Biology. 105 (5): 2123–2135. doi:10.1083/jcb.105.5.2123. PMC 2114830. PMID 3680373.
  15. ^ Podbilewicz, B.; White, J. G. (1994). "Cell fusions in the developing epithelial of C. Elegans". Developmental Biology. 161 (2): 408–424. doi:10.1006/dbio.1994.1041. PMID 8313992.
  16. ^ White, J.; Strome, S. (1996). "Cleavage plane specification in C. Elegans: How to divide the spoils". Cell. 84 (2): 195–198. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80974-5. PMID 8565065.
  17. ^ O'Connell, K. F.; Leys, C. M.; White, J. G. (1998). "A genetic screen for temperature-sensitive cell-division mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans". Genetics. 149 (3): 1303–1321. doi:10.1093/genetics/149.3.1303. PMC 1460235. PMID 9649522.
  18. ^ Hird, S. N.; White, J. G. (1993). "Cortical and cytoplasmic flow polarity in early embryonic cells of Caenorhabditis elegans". The Journal of Cell Biology. 121 (6): 1343–1355. doi:10.1083/jcb.121.6.1343. PMC 2119718. PMID 8509454.
  19. ^ White, J. G.; Southgate, E.; Thomson, J. N.; Brenner, S. (1976). "The structure of the ventral nerve cord of Caenorhabditis elegans". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 275 (938): 327–348. Bibcode:1976RSPTB.275..327W. doi:10.1098/rstb.1976.0086. PMID 8806.
  20. ^ a b White, J. G.; Southgate, E.; Thomson, J. N.; Brenner, S. (1986). "The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 314 (1165): 1–340. Bibcode:1986RSPTB.314....1W. doi:10.1098/rstb.1986.0056. PMID 22462104.
  21. ^ Sulston, J.; Schierenberg, E.; White, J. G.; Thomson, J. (1983). "The embryonic cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans". Developmental Biology. 100 (1): 64–119. doi:10.1016/0012-1606(83)90201-4. PMID 6684600.

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