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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