Alan Lambowitz

  • Professor
  • Professor of Oncology
  • Mr. and Mrs. A. Frank Smith, Jr. Regents Chair in Molecular Biology
  • Molecular Biosciences
Profile image of Alan Lambowitz

Contact Information

Biography

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (Prof. Walter Bonner), 1972-1973
  • Research Associate, Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Cell Biology (Prof. David Luck), 1973-1975; 
  • Senior Staff Fellow, National Institute of Mental Health, Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry, 1975-1976; 
  • The Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Assistant Professor, 1976-1979;  Associate Professor, 1979-1982; Professor 1982-1986; 
  • Medical Mycology Center, Washington University School Medicine, Barnes and Wohl Hospitals, (Dr. G. Medoff, Chief), 1978 to 1986; 
  • Ohio Eminent Scholar in Molecular Genetics, Professor of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Medical Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Colleges of Biological Sciences and Medicine, 1986-1997. 
  • The Ohio State University Biotechnology Center, 1987-1997
  • Director, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, 1997-2016. 
  • Mr. and Mrs. A. Frank Smith, Jr. Regents Chair in Molecular Biology and Professor of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, September 1997-present. 
  • Professor of Oncology, Dell Medical School, 2019-present.

NIH Molecular Biology Study Section, 1982-1986; Neurospora Policy Committee, 1982-1986; Ohio Science and Engineering Round Table, 1990-1997; ASM Council, 1991-1993; The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas, Board of Directors, 2010-2012; Scientific Advisory Board, RNA Institute of the University at Albany-State University of New York, 2012-present; Editor, Plasmid, 1987–1998; Editorial Board, Molecular and Cellular Biology (ASM), 1988-2009; Associate Editor, Fungal Genetics and Biology, 1988-2005; Editorial Board, RNA, 1997-present; Editorial Board, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006-2009. Editorial Board, Mobile DNA, 2014-present.

Research

The research in the Lambowitz laboratory focuses on group II intron and related bacterial and organellar reverse transcriptases (RTs), their reverse transcription mechanisms, association with CRISPR-Cas systems, and applications in high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), including for the analysis of human cellular, exosomal, and plasma RNAs for RNA diagnostics and liquid biopsy of human diseases. Lab members use a combination of genetic, biochemical, microbiological, and structural approaches. Methods employed include X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, as well as high-throughput RNA and DNA sequencing and a wide range of bioinformatic and computational methods for analyzing sequence data and biomarker identification in clinical samples, including in currently funded clinical trials.

Research Areas

  • Molecular Biology or Genetics
  • Infectious Disease, Immunology and Microbiology

Fields of Interest

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Disease

Education

  • Yale University, Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, M. Phil., 1970, Ph.D., 1972 (Ph.D. Thesis in laboratory of Prof. Carolyn Slayman)
  • Brooklyn College, Department of Chemistry, B.S., 1968, Summa cum laude with honors in Chemistry

Publications

Awards

  • Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2004
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1995
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2001
  • Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University, 2013
  • Member, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas, 2004
  • Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 2004