Eric Manvers Shooter (born 18 April 1924 in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England; died 21 March 2018) was an English scientist known for investigating the biochemistry of

nerve growth factor Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor and neuropeptide primarily involved in the regulation of growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of certain target neurons. It is perhaps the prototypical growth factor, in that it was ...

(NGF). From 1961 onwards he was affiliated with

Stanford University School of Medicine The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fra ...

, where he was founding chairman of the Department of Neurobiology (1975–1987).

Biography

Shooter attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, earning bachelor's (1945) and doctoral (1949) degrees in chemistry. After a brief postdoctoral fellowship at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, and having made some notable discoveries about the genetics of haemoglobin while a lecturer at

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 ...

, he moved to the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford as a research fellow in 1961. He was subsequently appointed associate professor of genetics (1963) and professor of biochemistry (1968), and chaired the school's doctoral program in neurosciences from 1972 until 1982. He chaired the Department of Neurobiology from its inception in 1975 until 1987. In 1988 he co-founded the New York-based biotechnology company

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biotechnology company headquartered in Westchester County, New York. The company was founded in 1988. Originally focused on neurotrophic factors and their regenerative capabilities, giving rise to ...

. His research group continued to be productive until his retirement in 2004.

Research

Shooter was acknowledged for his work on neurotrophins — proteins that induce the differentiation and survival of nerve cells. At the suggestion of

Joshua Lederberg Joshua Lederberg (May 23, 1925 – February 2, 2008) was an American molecular biology, molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won t ...

he spent three years intensively studying the structure and mechanisms of the canonical neurotrophin NGF. He also characterized the

PMP22 Peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), also called Growth arrest-specific protein 3 (GAS-3), is a protein which in humans is encoded by the ''PMP22'' gene. Mutations in ''PMP22'' cause changes in the expression of peripheral myelin protein 22 whic ...

gene in mice, defects in which cause the myelin sheath that protects nerve cells to break down in a way that resembles human neurological diseases called demyelinating peripheral neuropathies. These discoveries provided part of the foundation for understanding how nerves repair themselves. His group remained productive into the early 2000s with the discovery that the neurotrophin

BDNF Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), or abrineurin, is a protein found in the and the periphery. that, in humans, is encoded by the ''BDNF'' gene. BDNF is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors, which are related to the cano ...

enhances myelin formation.

Awards and honours

Shooter was awarded two international prizes jointly with the Swiss neuroscientist Hans Thoenen: the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience of the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well k ...

(1995) and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience Research (1997). He was elected to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1988, and was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Notwithstanding these personal achievements, he took the greatest satisfaction from the success of his students and postdoctoral trainees.

Philanthropy

In 2014 he endowed the Shooter Family Professorship at Stanford, currently held by the chair of neurobiology Thomas Clandinin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shooter, Eric Manvers 1924 births 2018 deaths 20th-century British biologists 20th-century English chemists English biochemists English neuroscientists English emigrants to the United States Alumni of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Stanford University faculty Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine