Luciano Marraffini

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Luciano Marraffini
Luciano Marraffini.jpg
Born
Luciano Angel Marraffini

(1974-07-17) July 17, 1974 (age 47)
Rosario, Argentina
Nationality
  • Argentinian
  • American
Alma mater
  • University of Rosario (Lic.)
  • The University of Chicago (Ph.D.)
Known forCRISPR
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsThe Rockefeller University
ThesisSortases, transpeptidases that anchor proteins to the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria (2007)
Academic advisorsOlaf Schneewind
Websitemarraffini.rockefeller.edu

Luciano Marraffini (born July 17, 1974) is an Argentinian-American microbiologist. He is currently professor and head of the laboratory of bacteriology at The Rockefeller University.[1] He is recognized for his work on CRISPR-Cas systems, being one of the first scientists to elucidate how these systems work at the molecular level.

Early life and education[]

Marraffini was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina. He had two passions growing up: following his hometown soccer team Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys, and reading about science.[2] Marraffini attended the Escuela Dante Alighieri high school and then entered the Facultad de Ciencias Bioquimicas y Farmaceuticas at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario to pursue a degree in Biotechnology. As an undergraduate he studied the biochemistry of plant ferredoxin-NADP⁺ reductases under the guidance of Dr. Eduardo Ceccarelli.[3] Marraffini moved to Chicago for his doctoral studies. He earned a PhD from the University of Chicago investigating the biochemistry and biological role of sortase, a transpeptidase that links surface proteins to the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria, in the laboratory of Dr. Olaf Schneewind.[4][5][6]

Research[]

In 2008, Marraffini joined the laboratory of Dr. Erik Sontheimer at Northwestern University as a Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research Fellow. In the Sontheimer lab, Marraffini pioneered the study the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas systems. Using bacterial genetics, he determined that CRISPR-Cas immunity uses sequence-specific DNA destruction to neutralize invaders.[7] This study was key to understand the mechanisms of CRISPR immunity at the molecular level and also predicted the existence of RNA-programmable Cas nucleases and their current applications to gene editing.

In 2010, Marraffini joined the faculty of The Rockefeller University to continue studying CRISPR-Cas immunity.[8] In 2012, he initiated a collaboration with Dr. Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard that culminated in the development of the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 technologies to edit the genomes of bacteria and human cells.[9][10] Currently, research in the Marraffini Lab focuses on the elucidation of the mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas immunity in bacteria.[11]

Awards and honors[]

For work in his own laboratory, he was honored with the Searle Scholars award in 2011,[12] the NIH Director's New Innovator Award in 2012,[13] the Hans Sigrist Prize from the University of Bern in 2015,[14] the Earl and Thressa Stadtman Scholar Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (jointly with Georgios Skiniotis) in 2016[15] and the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award[16] and the Albany Medical Center Prize (jointly with Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, Francisco Mojica and Feng Zhang) in 2017.[17]

He was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2017 and Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019.[18][19] Marraffini was appointed investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in 2018[20]

References[]

  1. ^ "Luciano Marraffini, Ph.D." www.rockefeller.edu. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  2. ^ Chao, Michael. "Micro-Interview #3". naturemicrobiologycommunity.nature.com. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Dr. Eduardo A. Ceccarelli CV" (PDF). www.fbioyf.unr.edu.ar. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  4. ^ Marraffini, Luciano A. (2007). Sortases, transpeptidases that anchor proteins to the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria (PhD). University of Chicago.
  5. ^ Marraffini, Luciano A.; Schneewind, Olaf (22 April 2005). "Anchor Structure of Staphylococcal Surface Proteins". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 280 (16): 16263–16271. doi:10.1074/jbc.M500071200. PMID 15718231.
  6. ^ Marraffini, Luciano A.; DeDent, Andrea C.; Schneewind, Olaf (1 March 2006). "Sortases and the Art of Anchoring Proteins to the Envelopes of Gram-Positive Bacteria". Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews. 70 (1): 192–221. doi:10.1128/MMBR.70.1.192-221.2006. ISSN 1092-2172. PMC 1393253. PMID 16524923.
  7. ^ Marraffini, Luciano A.; Sontheimer, Erik J. (19 December 2008). "CRISPR Interference Limits Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococci by Targeting DNA". Science. 322 (5909): 1843–1845. Bibcode:2008Sci...322.1843M. doi:10.1126/science.1165771. PMC 2695655. PMID 19095942.
  8. ^ "Microbiologist to join Rockefeller faculty". Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  9. ^ Jiang, Wenyan; Bikard, David; Cox, David; Zhang, Feng; Marraffini, Luciano A (29 January 2013). "RNA-guided editing of bacterial genomes using CRISPR-Cas systems". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (3): 233–239. doi:10.1038/nbt.2508. PMC 3748948. PMID 23360965.
  10. ^ Cong, L.; Ran, F. A.; Cox, D.; Lin, S.; Barretto, R.; Habib, N.; Hsu, P. D.; Wu, X.; Jiang, W.; Marraffini, L. A.; Zhang, F. (3 January 2013). "Multiplex Genome Engineering Using CRISPR/Cas Systems". Science. 339 (6121): 819–823. Bibcode:2013Sci...339..819C. doi:10.1126/science.1231143. PMC 3795411. PMID 23287718.
  11. ^ "The Biology of CRISPR-Cas Immunity". marraffini.rockefeller.edu. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Awardees". www.searlescholars.net. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  13. ^ "NIH Director's New Innovator Award Recipients". commonfund.nih.gov. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Promising approach awarded for combating antibiotic resistance". www.uniaktuell.unibe.ch. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  15. ^ "Earl And Thressa Stadtman Young Scholar Award". www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  16. ^ "NIH Director's Pioneer Award Recipients - 2017 Awardees". commonfund.nih.go. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  17. ^ Ford Rajchel, Sue. "Gene Editing Pioneers Selected to Receive America's Most Distinguished Prize in Medicine". www.amc.edu. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  18. ^ "73 Fellows Elected to the American Academy of Microbiology". www.asm.org. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Luciano A. Marraffini". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Luciano Marraffini, PhD". HHMI.org. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
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