Baylor College of Medicine

Date:
1978
Reference:
PP/CRI/E/1/26/15
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Baylor College of Medicine. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    2/20
    In establishing the Marrs McLean Lectures, Baylor College of Medicine and the department of biochemistry honor the late Marrs McLean and dedicate the annual session to his memory. Mr. McLean, a pioneer Texas oilman and rancher, was born in Sherman on June 20, 1883, and was widely known not only for his business acumen, but also for his integrity, dedication, and willingness to work for a public cause. His philanthropies were many, but among those who benefitted most from his generosity are Baylor University and Baylor College of Medicine. His interest in the medical school may have been the result of his father's desire to have him become a doctor as an alternative career. In recognition of his generous support of the college of medicine through a bequest to Baylor, the board of trustees, on Sep tember 11, 1959, designated the department of biochemistry as the Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry. The continued support of Mrs. Verna McLean and the McLean Foundation has been a vital factor in the growth and development of the department. Mr. McLean always felt that his greatest contribu tion was not the money he gave, but the fact that his public stand as a supporter and worker would inspire others to make equally strong commitments. First Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Eugene P. Kennedy Dr. Philip Handler Second Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Sol Spiegleman Dr. William D. McElroy Third Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Seymour Benzer Dr. Paul Berg Fourth Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Efraim Racker Dr. Erwin Chargaff Fifth Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Charles Yanofsky Dr. Hans Krebs Sixth Annual Marrs McLean Lecturers Dr. Bengt Samuelsson Dr. Lewis Thomas PROGRAM Main Auditorium Baylor College of Medicine November 30, 1978 2:00 Scientific Lecture Expression of Eukaryotic Proteins in Bacteria Prof. Walter Gilbert 3:00 Refreshments — Rayzor Lounge Open House Department of Biochemistry 3:30 Public Lecture What makes Molecular Biology Advance so Rapidly Prof. Francis H. C. Crick 4:30 Closing Remarks Dr. Salih J. Wakil, Chairman Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry Prof. Walter Gilbert Prof. Francis H. C. Crick Dr. Walter Gilbert is the American Cancer Society Professor of Molecular Biology at Harvard University. His formal training was in mathematics and physics. During the period of 1957-1964 he was a member of the faculty of the Physics Department at Harvard University. However, influenced by the new revolution in molecular biology, Dr. Gilbert's interest turned towards the study of gene regulation and struc ture. Soon thereafter he isolated the regulatory protein of the lactose operon and studied its interaction with the lac operator region on the DNA. More recently, Professor Gilbert and his associate Allan M. Maxam have devised a simple and quick method for determination of the sequence of nucleotide units in DNA. As a result, the nucleotide sequences of many genes and regulatory regions have been determined. Com parison of the sequence of amino acids in puri fied proteins with those predicted from the sequence of nucleotides in their genes has yielded unforeseen information which has revolutionized our concepts of the process of gene expression in eukaryotes. Dr. Gilbert is a recipient of many awards and honors including an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Chicago and membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Francis H. C. Crick is the J. W. Kieckhefer Distinguished Research Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California. In 1953 he and James D. Watson proposed a model for the structure of the genetic material, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Their model described the DNA molecule as consisting two helical chains coiling around each other in a right-handed fashion. The nucleotides in the two chains are oriented in opposite directions, up in one chain and down in the other (antiparallel). This model, which has stood the test of time essentially unaltered, accounted for all previous observations regarding DNA structure and sug gested solutions to previously baffling prob lems in biology, such as the replication of the hereditary material and how the genetic material directs the building of proteins. The determina tion of DNA structure has been called the single most important development in biology in the present century, for it revolutionized the study of biology by providing a molecular basis for our understanding of the processes of growth and differentiation. For this work Professor Crick was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1962 along with Dr. James Watson and Dr. Maurice Wilkins. Dr. Crick's continuing insights into the expression of genetic information and chromo some structure have contributed materially to the explosive growth in our understanding of the molecular biology of genetic processes over the past 25 years.
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