Contents
Martin Chalfie
Showing how green fluorescent protein could mark living cells for scientific study.
Touch circuitry · Glowing cells
- Born
- 15 January 1947
- Birthplace
- Chicago, United States
More people
Martin Chalfie
Martin Chalfie is an American biologist who shared the 2008 chemistry Nobel with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien.
Early life
Chicago childhood
Grew up with a guitarist father and a mother who ran an apparel business.
Harvard
Studied biochemistry, then returned for doctoral research after temporary jobs.
Career
- 1977
Doctorate
Completed his Harvard PhD.
- 1982
Columbia faculty
Established a research programme on the nervous system of C. elegans.
- 1994
GFP paper
Published the demonstration of GFP as a genetic marker.
Contributions
Touch circuitry
Co-authored work mapping the worm’s touch-sensitive neural circuit.
Glowing cells
Demonstrated GFP expression in bacteria and nematodes.
Mechanosensation
Investigated how cells detect physical force.
Beyond the lab
Swimming
Captained Harvard’s swimming team as an undergraduate.
Family
Married fellow scientist Tulle Hazelrigg.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Further source ↗Photo: Duncan.Hull. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
