Matthew P. Scott is an American biologist who was the tenth president of the Carnegie Institution for Science. While 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 ...

, Scott studied how embryonic and later development is governed by proteins that control

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

activity and

cell signaling In biology, cell signaling (cell signalling in British English) is the Biological process, process by which a Cell (biology), cell interacts with itself, other cells, and the environment. Cell signaling is a fundamental property of all Cell (biol ...

processes. He co- discovered

homeobox A homeobox is a Nucleic acid sequence, DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, that regulates large-scale anatomical features in the early stages of embryonic development. Mutations in a homeobox may change large-scale anatomical features of ...

genes in ''

Drosophila melanogaster ''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (an insect of the Order (biology), order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly", "pomace fly" ...

'' working with Amy J. Weiner at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. Among his laboratory's discoveries, he is recognized for the cloning of the

patched Patched (Ptc) is a conserved 12-pass transmembrane protein receptor that plays an obligate negative regulatory role in the Hedgehog signaling pathway in insects and vertebrates. Patched is an essential gene in embryogenesis for proper segme ...

gene family and demonstration that a human homolog PTCH1 is a key

tumor suppressor A tumor suppressor gene (TSG), or anti-oncogene, is a gene that regulates a cell (biology), cell during cell division and replication. If the cell grows uncontrollably, it will result in cancer. When a tumor suppressor gene is mutated, it results ...

gene for the

Hedgehog signaling pathway The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathwa ...

as well as the causative gene for the

nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome Nevoid basal-cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is a rare inherited medical condition involving defects within multiple body systems such as the skin, nervous system, eyes, endocrine system, and bones. People with NBCCS are prone to developing vario ...

, or

Gorlin syndrome Gorlin may refer to: People * Dan Gorlin, computer game programmer, designer and founder of Dan Gorlin Productions * Eitan Gorlin, filmmaker, author and actor * Mikhail Gorlin, Russian emigre poet * Richard Gorlin, American cardiologist, co-devel ...

Education

Scott completed a B.S. in 1975 and Ph.D. in biology in 1980, both at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Career and research

Scott served on the faculty of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

starting in 1983. He moved to

in 1990 to join the faculty of the Department of Developmental Biology and the Department of Genetics. From 2002-2007 he served as Chair of Bio-X, Stanford's interdisciplinary biosciences program.

Awards and honors

* 1983 - Helen Hay Whitney

postdoctoral fellowship A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

* 1985 - Searle Scholar * 2004 - Conklin Medal, Society for Developmental Biology * 1999 - Member,

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nati ...

* 2007 - Member,

National Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

Personal life

He is married to Stanford developmental geneticist Margaret T. Fuller.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Matthew P. 21st-century American biologists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Howard Hughes Medical Investigators Members of the National Academy of Medicine Searle Scholars Program recipients