Mitosis Specialist Splits From UCSF

Andrew W. Murray, a specialist in the process of cell division, will join the biological sciences department next fall, as a tenured professor working primarily in the new Harvard Center for Genomics Research.

The move will be a considerable one for Murray, who will finish this academic year at the University of California at San Francisco before coming to Harvard.

Murray's west coast colleagues expressed both their admiration for him, and their dismay at his departure.

David O. Morgan, a professor in physiology, biophysics and biochemistry at the University of California who has worked across the hall from Murray for the past 10 years, said Murray is an extraordinary researcher.

"He's one of our best scientists we have, in any field," Morgan said. "I think there's a widespread disappointment he's leaving."

"He has been a catalyst for a lot of great science both in his own lab and in others," Morgan added.

Murray said the breadth of Harvard's expertise in scientific and technical fields--from biology to computer science to mathematics--was an incentive to come to Cambridge, as well as the opportunity to teach undergraduates. At his previous post, Murray taught only graduate students.

Another enticement was the opportunity to be a part of the new Harvard Center for Genomics Research, part of a $200 million science initiative the University unveiled last winter.

Murray's work currently focuses on mitosis, the process of cell division and reproduction. Much of his research has examined the concept of a "spindle checkpoint," by which a dividing cell checks that each daughter cell receives exactly one half of each chromosome pair.

When he comes to Harvard, Murray said he hopes to augment these experiments by examining the way cellular structures react to evolutionary pressures, rather than focus solely on mitosis in a static environment.

Until recently, such analysis has been extremely difficult, due to the inability of scientists to identify which portions of a cell change in reaction to such pressures.

But with the advances of genomics in recent years, scientists have a new lens through which to single out mutations of individual proteins in a DNA strand.

According to Murray, Harvard's research facilities provide an excellent resource for tapping these methods, which Murray said allow "a quantum leap in our understanding" of the principles of genetic adaptation.

Murray emphasized that a change of environment will help him keep his creative juices of discovery flowing.

"It's both exciting and unsettling," he said, "and that combination is good for doing new things."

Faculty in the biological sciences department could not be reached for comment.