In memory of Michael J. Chamberlin
Michael J. Chamberlin, a longtime editorial board member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and a trailblazer in transcription research, passed away on November 1 at the age of 88. A member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for almost six decades, he was also elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Michael J. Chamberlin
Born on June 7, 1937, in Chicago, Chamberlin earned a B.S. in chemistry from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University. After earning his doctorate, he joined the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.
Chamberlin played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of RNA polymerases and transcription regulation. During his graduate studies, he worked with Nobel laureate Paul Berg and became the first to isolate RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli.
He demonstrated that RNA polymerases regulate gene activity, a concept not yet recognized at the time. He showed that transcription begins when RNA polymerase binds to DNA at a specific promoter. In 1974, he published three papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that proposed a model for the initiation of RNA chains by RNA polymerase.
In 2021, Stanford Medicine’s Alumni Association honored Chamberlin with the Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences.
A Stanford video on Chamberlin’s legacy features Jasper Rine, a professor of genetics and development at UC Berkeley, who notes that messenger RNA vaccines were made possible by Chamberlin’s groundbreaking work on bacteriophage RNA polymerases in the 1970s and 1980s.
Colleagues remember Chamberlin as energized, intense, enthusiastic, magnetic, and warm. ASBMB President Joan Conaway called him a valuable informal mentor and friend who supported her and her husband during the early stages of their careers.
“Mike was special: a scientist of exceptional rigor and integrity who helped shape the transcription field and inspired many,” she said.
Chamberlin is survived by his wife, Caroline Kane, a professor in residence emerita at UC Berkeley, and his brothers Peter, Steve, and Tom.
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