Charles R. Cantor
(born August 26, 1942 in Brooklyn) is an American
molecular geneticist who, in conjunction with David Schwartz, developed
pulse field gel electrophoresis for very large
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
molecules. Cantor's three-volume book ''Biophysical Chemistry'',
co-authored with
Paul Schimmel
Paul Reinhard Schimmel (born August 4, 1940) is an American biophysical chemist and translational medicine pioneer.
Career
Paul Schimmel is a Professor of Molecular Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute. Prior to joining The Scripps Resea ...
, was an influential textbook in the 1980s and 1990s.
Career
Charles Cantor received his AB from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1963 and PhD from
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
in 1966.
He is Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
. While on a two-year sabbatical acting as Chief Scientific Officer at
Sequenom, Inc. he maintained his research laboratory at Boston University. He is also a co-founder and Director of
Retrotope, a US-based company using heavier isotopes of carbon (
13C) and hydrogen (
2H,
deuterium
Deuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more c ...
) to stabilize essential compounds like
amino acids
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...
,
nucleic acids
Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic a ...
and
lipids
Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins Vitamin A, A, Vitamin D, D, Vitamin E, E and Vitamin K, K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The fu ...
to target age-related diseases.
Cantor held positions at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
(1981–1989)
and the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
(1989–1992),
before moving to
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
in 1992.
In 2017 he became Professor Adjunct in Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research.
He has been director of the
Department of Energy Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...
and Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.
He is a consultant to more than 16 biotech firms, has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles, been granted 54 US patents, and co-authored a three-volume textbook on
Biophysical Chemistry
Biophysical chemistry is a physical science that uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems. The most common feature of the research in this subject is to seek an explanation of the various phenomena ...
.
Publications
Papers
Charles Cantor obtained his Ph.D. in the group of
Ignacio Tinoco, with whom he published work on the optical properties of nucleotides. In post-doctoral work with
Thomas Jukes he studied repetitive sequences in polypeptides, but most of his independent research has concerned nucleic acids, from his early work with
nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are disturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field (in the near field) and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a ...
(NMR) and repetitive sequences in polydeoxyribonucleotides. onwards.
Cantor's laboratory at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
has developed methods for separating large DNA molecules, for studying structural relationships in complex
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...
and
nucleic acids
Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nucleic a ...
, and for sensitive detection of proteins and nucleic acids in a variety of settings. His work has been very highly cited, with five papers cited more than 1000 times each: 2709 citations of work on a toggle switch in Escherichia coli, 2594 of his paper on microtubule assembly, 2412 on his paper on pulsed field gradient gel-electrophoresis, 1437 on the launching of the
ENCODE
The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) is a public research project which aims "to build a comprehensive parts list of functional elements in the human genome."
ENCODE also supports further biomedical research by "generating community resourc ...
project (with about 200 authors), and 1176 on a study of noise in gene expression.
Reviews
Cantor's reviews include one on the physical chemistry of nucleic acids.
Books
Cantor co-authored ''Biophysical Chemistry'' with Paul Schimmel, which was published in three volumes:
Part 1, The Conformation of Biological Macromolecules;
Part 2, Techniques for the Study of Biological Structure and Function;
Part 3, The Behavior of Biological Macromolecules
With Cassandra Smith, he wrote ''Genomics: The Science and Technology Behind the Human Genome Project''.
References
External links
CharlesCantor.OrgA schedule of Dr. Charles Cantor's upcoming scientific talksManagement Team of Sequenom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Charles
Living people
1942 births
Columbia University faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Boston University faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
New England Complex Systems Institute
Columbia College (New York) alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni