Philip Leder, Who Deciphered Amino Acid Sequences, Dies

The Harvard Medical School researcher’s work on the genetic basis of protein coding and production led him to make groundbreaking discoveries in immunology, molecular biology, and cancer genetics.

Written byAshley Yeager

| 4 min read

Save for Later

Listen with Speechify

0:00

4:00

ABOVE: LIZA GREEN, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL

Harvard Medical School molecular geneticist Philip Leder died last week (February 2). He was 85.

Leder was revered for his work in molecular biology, immunology, and cancer genetics. His first scientific breakthrough came in the 1960s when he was working as a postdoc in geneticist Marshall Nirenberg’s lab at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Together they developed a technique that confirmed that amino acids were encoded by a sequence of three nucleotides and revealed the triplet code of ambiguous amino acids.

From there, Leder went on to determine the first complete sequence of a mammalian gene, develop the first recombinant DNA vector system safe for use in the lab, identify the structure of genes that encode antibody molecules, discover a gene that caused cancer, and develop the first mouse model of cancer.

“Phil Leder was special. Among great scientists, he was special, and ...

Interested in reading more?

The Scientist ARCHIVES

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Ashley Yeager
Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.
View Full Profile