Contents
John Sulston
Tracing cell development and championing public genome data.
Cell lineages · Public sequencing
- Born
- 27 March 1942
- Birthplace
- Fulmer, Buckinghamshire
- Died
- 6 March 2018
More people
John Sulston
British biologist whose studies of a tiny worm helped explain cell lineages and programmed cell death. Also played a leading role in genome sequencing.
Early life
Chemistry training
Developed an early interest in biology, studied natural sciences at Cambridge and completed a doctorate in nucleotide chemistry in 1966.
Career
- 1966–1969
Salk Institute
Worked with Leslie Orgel in California.
- 1969 onward
Cambridge biology
Joined Sydney Brenner’s programme studying Caenorhabditis elegans.
- 1998
Animal genome
Helped complete the worm’s genome sequence.
- 2002
Nobel Prize
Shared the medicine prize with Brenner and Robert Horvitz.
Contributions
Cell lineages
Followed the sequence of divisions that produces the worm’s cells.
Public sequencing
Led work on worm and human DNA sequences.
Beyond work
Community and openness
Married Daphne Bate in 1966 and had two children. Volunteered locally and argued that genome information should remain publicly accessible.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical or achievement source ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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Photo: Arienette22. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.