Richard Earl Dickerson (October 8, 1931 – May 14, 2025) was an American biochemist. He was the first to carry out a single-crystal structure analysis of
B-DNA
In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its secondary structure, a ...
, with what has become known as the "Dickerson dodecamer": C-G-C-G-A-A-T-T-C-G-C-G. At
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
he continued his investigations of the structures of
A- and B-DNA, and of complexes between
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 ...
and drugs or proteins. He was elected to 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 ...
and
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 ...
in 1985. During the academic year 1997-1998, Dickerson was the Newton-Abraham Visiting Professor in Medical, Biological and Chemical Science at
Lincoln College and the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.
Since 2013, Dickerson has been listed on the Advisory Council of the
National Center for Science Education
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of con ...
.
Education
* B.S. in chemistry from
Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
in 1953.
Dickerson, Richard E., UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry
/ref>
* Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1957 at the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, studying the structures of boron hydrides under the direction of future Nobel Laureate Professor William N. Lipscomb.
* Postdoc for two years at 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 ...
with John C. Kendrew.
Appointments and positions held
* Professor emeritus, department of chemistry and biochemistry, UCLA, US
References
External links
Dickerson research lab at UCLA
1931 births
2025 deaths
21st-century American biochemists
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Structural biologists
{{US-biochemist-stub