Emory Leon Ellis (29 October 1906 – 26 October 2003) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological che ...

. He worked with

Max Delbrück Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück (; September 4, 1906 – March 9, 1981) was a German–American biophysicist who participated in launching the molecular biology research program in the late 1930s. He stimulated physical scientists' interest into ...

on the paper ''The Growth of Bacteriophage''.

Biography

Ellis was born on 29 October 1906 in

Grayville, Illinois Grayville is a city in Edwards and White counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 1,666, reflecting a decrease of 59 (-3.4%) from the 1,725 in 2000. Grayville is the birthplace of naval hero James ...

. He attended

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

from 1925, attaining his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

in 1934 in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology ...

. Apart from one year working for the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

, Ellis remained at Caltech until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Ellis' interests were in

bacteriophage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bact ...

which he believed would contribute to understanding the role of viruses in cancer. He started work on their role in animals, but found that there were extra problems and expense related to maintaining the animals and so switched to phage. Ellis published the important paper ''The Growth of Bacteriophage'' with

in 1939. He gave up work on phage after this paper and returned to cancer research before moving to

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Install ...

from 1943, working with rocket-program employees as the onsite representative of Caltech. Ellis became Executive Director of the Office of Industrial Associates in Caltech for two years between 1963 and 1965 and retired in 1969. Ellis died on 26 October 2003. In a retrospective article, Ellis described his interactions with Delbruck.Ellis E.L. Bacteriophage: One-step growth curve: chapter in Phage and the Origins of Molecular Biology (1966) Edited by John Cairns, Gunther S. Stent, and James D. Watson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York The quantitative methods for studying bacteriophage that Delbruck initially learned from Ellis, were further developed by a group of scientists informally known as the "phage group" (see phage group). Under the leadership of Delbruck this group played a central role in the early development of molecular biology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Emory 1906 births 2003 deaths California Institute of Technology alumni People from Grayville, Illinois Phage workers

Biography

See also

References