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Paul Berg Info

Paul Berg

Email:
Profile: http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Paul_Berg/

Alternate Contact:
Name: Ms. Jane Kroeten
Title: Admin. Assoc. Beckman Center
Email: jkroeten@stanford.edu
Phone: 723-6170

Academic Appointments
Appointment
Organization
Emeritus (Active) Professor
Biochemistry
Emeritus (Active) Professor
Stanford University School of Medicine
Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council
Biochemistry
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Biochemistry ;
 
Honors & Awards
Title
Organization
Date(s)
Nobel Prize, Chemistry
Nobel Foundation
1980
Eli Lilly Award in Biochemistry
Eli Lilly
1959
California Scientist of the Year
State of California
1963
Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching at Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University
1969, 1972
V.D. Mattia Prize for Molecular Biology
Roche Institute
NA
21  honors and awards: view full list
Administrative Appointments
Title
Organization
Start Year
End Year
NAS-CSIS Roundtable on Biotechnology & Bioterrorism
NAS-CSIS
2001
2004
Chairman, Public Policy Cmte.
American Society for Cell Biology
1998
2002
Professional Education
Degree
Awarding Institution
Field of Study
Year of Graduation
Ph.D.
Case Western Reserve University
Biochemistry
1952
B.S.
Pennsylvania State University
Biochemistry
1948
Research Interests

For about 10 years until 2000, my lab’s research activities were focused on the mechanism of recombinational repair of double-strand breaks in DNA. We focused our efforts on two model systems: one involved the repair of restriction enzyme cleavages at specific mammalian chromosomal loci and the second explored the biochemical properties of purified yeast Rad51 protein, an essential catalyst for synapsing the broken ends of DNA with an intact homologue of that sequence. We also explored the roles of Rad52 and PRA (single-strand DNA binding protein) in the repair process.

In 2000, I became Emeritus Professor in Biochemistry and stepped down from the Directorship of the Beckman Center. Much of my activities since then have been involved in writing a biography of the genetics pioneer George Beadle, published in 2003, plus articles for other publications elaborating on Beadle’s legacy for today’s science. Over the years I have been and continue to be an activist in public policy issues affecting biomedical issues, e.g. recombinant DNA and more recently, issues concerning embryonic stem cells.

Publications
  • Berg P, Lehman IR "Retrospective: Arthur Kornberg (1918-2007)." Science 2007; 318: 5856: 1564 More »
  • Saxonov S, Berg P, Brutlag DL "A genome-wide analysis of CpG dinucleotides in the human genome distinguishes two distinct classes of promoters." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006; More »
  • Berg, P, "Brilliant Science, Dark Politics, Uncertain Law" Jurimetrics 2006; 46: More »
  • Berg P, "Origins of the human genome project: why sequence the human genome when 96% of it is junk?" Am J Hum Genet 2006; 79: 4: 603-5 More »
  • Berg P, "Reflections on the Lasker prize for basic biomedical research." JAMA 2005; 294: 11: 1419-20 More »
43 publications:   view full list