Barbara Mary Frances Pearse
FRS (born 24 March 1948,
Wraysbury,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
) is a British biological scientist. She works at the
Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute in Cambridge, England, involved in the revolution in molecular biology which occurred in the 1950–60s. Since then it has remained a major medical r ...
in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, United Kingdom.
Education
Barbara Pearse attended the independent
Lady Eleanor Holles School in
Hampton in Greater London, and gained her undergraduate degree from
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
in 1969.
Career
She was appointed to the scientific staff of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in 1982.
Research
Pearse's main contributions lie in the structure of coated
vesicles. Pearse first purified coated vesicles; she also discovered the
clathrin
Clathrin is a protein that plays a role in the formation of coated vesicles. Clathrin was first isolated by Barbara Pearse in 1976. It forms a triskelion shape composed of three clathrin heavy chains and three light chains. When the triskel ...
coat molecule in 1975.
Coated pits and vesicles were first seen in thin sections of tissue in the electron microscope by Thomas Roth and Keith Porter in 1964. The importance of them for the clearance of
LDL from blood was discovered by R. G. Anderson,
Michael S. Brown and
Joseph L. Goldstein in 1976.
Awards and honours
She was visiting professor in
cell biology
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...
at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
(1984-5). She was elected a member of
European Molecular Biology Organization
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...
(EMBO) in 1982 and awarded the
EMBO Gold Medal in 1987. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1988.
Personal life
She is married to
Mark Bretscher, another scientist.
[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearse, Barbara
1948 births
20th-century British biologists
20th-century British women scientists
21st-century British biologists
21st-century British women scientists
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Academics of University College London
Alumni of University College London
British women biologists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Female fellows of the Royal Society
Living people
Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
People educated at Lady Eleanor Holles School
People from Buckinghamshire
People from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Stanford University faculty