Benjamin "Ben" C. Stark is an American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize in ...

and a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He grew up in a small city in mid-Michigan in the 1950s-1960s. After high school he majored in cellular biology at the University of Michigan (B.S. 1971) and later he received his master (M.Sc. 1974) and doctoral (Ph.D. 1977) degrees from Yale University with Sidney Altman. After two postdoctoral positions, he took a faculty position at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he has worked since. He has carried out research in the area of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

and RNA biology. He was one of the co-discoverers of RNase P, a catalytic RNA, in the laboratory of Sidney Altman who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with

Thomas R. Cech Thomas Robert Cech (born December 8, 1947) is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA ...

in 1989 for their work on the catalytic properties of RNA. Another major accomplishment of Stark includes the discovery of enhancement of productivity of recombinant organisms engineered to express the ''Vitreoscilla'' hemoglobin (

VHb (hemoglobin) ''Vitreoscilla'' haemoglobin (VHb) is a type of haemoglobin found in the Gram-negative aerobic bacterium, ''Vitreoscilla''. It is the first haemoglobin discovered from bacteria, but unlike classic hemoglobin it is composed only of a single globin ...

), the first bacterial hemoglobin. He has over 80

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

publications.

Awards and honors

Stark's research has been recognized by many awards, including Honor Award for University Research by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (2013), Person of the Millennium (IIT Millennium Project, 1999), and the Teaching Excellence Award (Lewis College, IIT, 1988).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Benjamin 1955 births Living people Yale University alumni Illinois Institute of Technology faculty American bioengineers Biotechnologists University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Biologists from Michigan