Helen Donis-Keller

Last updated
Helen R. Donis-Keller
Alma mater Lakehead University
Harvard University
Scientific career
Institutions Biogen
Collaborative Research
Washington University in St. Louis
Olin College
Thesis Enzymatic RNA sequencing and fractionation methods  (1979)
Doctoral advisor Walter Gilbert

Helen Donis-Keller is the Michael E. Moody Professor and Professor of Biology and Art at Olin College in Needham, Massachusetts. Originally working as a graphic designer for Lakehead University, her interest in science began after enrolling in biology and chemistry classes at the university for fun. [1]

Contents

Education and career

Donis-Keller has a B.Sc. and an H.B.Sc. from Lakehead University. She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University under the direction of Walter Gilbert in 1979. [2] After employment at the biotechnology companies Biogen and Collaborative Research (now Genome Therapeutics Corporation), she joined the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine. [3] [4] In 2001, she earn an MFA in studio art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University[ citation needed ] and she joined the faculty at the Olin College of Engineering. [2] In 2012, she was named the Michael. E. Moody Faculty Chair. [5]

Research

Donis-Keller's graduate research established a method to do RNA sequencing. [6] [7] [8] During her time at Collaborative Research, her research group created the first genetic map of the human genome. [9] Donis-Keller was unable to secure either NIH or venture funding for generating the RFLP map, but convinced Collaborative Research's management to fund the project. [10] [11] She continued to work on the genetic linkage map [12] and led research into understanding the genetic basis of cystic fibrosis, [13] thyroid cancer, [14] and breast cancer. [15] [16]

Selected publications

Awards

Art

In addition to teaching art at Olin, [3] Donis-Keller is herself an artist, and her art can be seen at Needham's 2021 Open Studios event [19] and other venues. [20] [21] [22] Her Ph.D. advisor, Walter Gilbert, has also begun to investigate the intersection between art and science though, in a 2015 interview, Donis-Keller did not recall his interest in art while she was a student in his lab. [23]

References

  1. ↑ "Oral history interview with Helen Donis-Keller". Science History Institute Digital Collections. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  2. 1 2 "Helen Donis-Keller | Art, Science, and Education" . Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  3. 1 2 "Faculty Profile for Helen Donis-Keller, Ph.D. | Olin College of Engineering". www.olin.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  4. ↑ "Committee Biographies". Assessing Genetic Risks: Implications for Health and Social Policy: Committee Biographies. National Academies Press (US). 1994.
  5. ↑ "Olin College Names Professor Helen Donis-Keller as Inaugural Holder of the Michael E. Moody Chair". PRWeb. December 20, 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. ↑ Donis-Keller, Helen; Maxam, Allan M.; Gilbert, Walter (1977). "Mapping adenines, guanines, and pyrimidines in RNA". Nucleic Acids Research. 4 (8): 2527–2538. doi:10.1093/nar/4.8.2527. ISSN   0305-1048. PMC   342589 . PMID   409999.
  7. ↑ Donis-Keller, Helen (1979). "Site specific enzymatic cleavage of RNA". Nucleic Acids Research. 7 (1): 179–192. doi:10.1093/nar/7.1.179. ISSN   0305-1048. PMC   328004 . PMID   386279.
  8. ↑ Donis-Keller, Helen (1980). "Phy M: an RNase activity specific for U and A residues useful in RNA sequence analysis". Nucleic Acids Research. 8 (14): 3133–3142. doi:10.1093/nar/8.14.3133. ISSN   0305-1048. PMC   324360 . PMID   6160466.
  9. ↑ Donis-Keller, Helen; Green, Phillip; Helms, Cynthia; Cartinhour, Samuel; Weiffenback, Barbara; Stephens, Karen; Keith, Tim P.; Bowden, Donald W. (October 23, 1987). "A Genetic Linkage Map of the Human Genome" (PDF). Cell. 51 (2): 319–337. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(87)90158-9. PMID   3664638. S2CID   7230640.
  10. ↑ Cook-Deegan, Robert (1996). The Gene Wars: Science, Politics and the Human Genome . W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   9780393313994.
  11. ↑ Robert Mullan Cook-Deegan; Hanna, Kathi E. (1991). The Human Genome Project: The Formation of Federal Policies in the United States, 1986-1990. National Academies Press (US).
  12. ↑ Group, NIH/CEPH Collaborative Mapping (1992). "A Comprehensive Genetic Linkage Map of the Human Genome" . Science. 258 (5079): 67–86. doi:10.1126/science.1439770. ISSN   0036-8075. JSTOR   2885812.{{cite journal}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ↑ Roberts, Leslie (1988). "The Race for the Cystic Fibrosis Gene" . Science. 240 (4849): 141–144. Bibcode:1988Sci...240..141R. doi:10.1126/science.3281257. ISSN   0036-8075. JSTOR   1701223. PMID   3281257.
  14. ↑ Donis-Keller, Helen; Dou, Shenshen; Chi, David; Carlson, Katrin M.; Toshima, Koji; Lairmore, Terry C.; Howe, James R.; Moley, Jeffrey F.; Goodfellow, Paul; Wells, Samuel A. (1993). "Mutations in the RET proto-oncogene are associated with MEN 2A and FMTC" . Human Molecular Genetics. 2 (7): 851–856. doi:10.1093/hmg/2.7.851. ISSN   0964-6906. PMID   8103403.
  15. ↑ Radford, Diane M.; Fair, Keri L.; Phillips, Nancy J.; Ritter, Jon H.; Steinbrueck, Todd; Holt, Matthew S.; Donis-Keller, Helen (1995-08-01). "Allelotyping of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ of the Breast: Deletion of Loci on 8p, 13q, 16q, 17p and 17q". Cancer Research. 55 (15): 3399–3405. ISSN   0008-5472. PMID   7614479.
  16. ↑ Glass, Andrew G.; Donis-Keller, Helen; Mies, Carolyn; Russo, Jose; Zehnbauer, Barbara; Taube, Sheila; Aamodt, Roger (2001-07-01). "The Cooperative Breast Cancer Tissue Resource: Archival Tissue for the Investigation of Tumor Markers". Clinical Cancer Research. 7 (7): 1843–1849. ISSN   1078-0432. PMID   11448894.
  17. ↑ "Past Honorary Degrees". Lakehead University. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  18. ↑ "2023 AAAS Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  19. ↑ CULTURE, COURTESY OF NEEDHAM COUNCIL FOR ARTS AND. "Needham students, artists showcase presentations with Storefronts Needham". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  20. ↑ "How Genomic - Helen Donis-Keller". www.jgsinc.org. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  21. ↑ "Helen Donis-Keller – Krakow Witkin Gallery" . Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  22. ↑ "HELEN DONIS-KELLER, MFA 01 - Hero of the Earth, Havana - $700". smfa.bidsquare.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  23. ↑ Johnson, Carolyn Y. (March 13, 2015). "A physicist, biologist, Nobel laureate, CEO, and now, artist - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
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