Unsung Achievements

This past Friday, I attended a talk sponsored by Fermilab National Laboratory in Aurora, IL. Speaking that evening was a 2008 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Martin Chalfie.

Chalfie’s demonstration of the use of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria earned him the prize, shared by Osamu Shimomura and Roger Tsien.

A model of Green Fluorescent Protein

Normally proteins in cells are not visible, but they can be visualized by means of GFP. Blue light shined on proteins of interest to researchers that are linked to GFP absorb the light and reradiate it as green light. They fluoresce, becoming visible. This allows researchers to observe how these proteins function and where they go in cells. As a biological marker, GFP is quickly becoming the microscope of the twenty-first century.

Proteins marked with GFP glow green under blue light.

Noticeably absent at the podium at this talk was a man named Douglas Prasher. It was Prasher who was first to isolate the gene for the glowing jellyfish protein. Dr. Prasher, at the time of the Nobel prize announcement, was driving  courtesy vans for a car dealership in Huntsville, Alabama.

Trained as a biochemist, Dr. Prasher was interested in the chemistry of how certain animals are able to glow. In the late 1980s, he applied for a five-year grant to track down the gene. Dr. Prasher said his proposal included investigations on how the fluorescent protein might be used as a beacon to light up structures in cells. But the application was turned down. An application put elsewhere proved successful, but it gave Prasher only two years of financing, enough time to isolate the gene, but not enough time to pursue any applications. When time was up, he went looking for another job. Before he left, Dr. Chalfie and Dr. Tsien independently contacted him, asking about the jellyfish gene. Prasher generously shared the gene with both of them.

Experiencing dissatisfaction with employers to whom he transferred his work, he eventually landed in Huntsville, where he worked for a NASA subcontractor that was developing mini-chemistry laboratories, used during potential human flight to Mars. Dr. Prasher loved that job, but NASA eliminated the financing for the project. For family reasons, he stayed in Huntsville, which restricted his opportunities. After a year of unemployment he went to work for the car dealership.

In a self-effacing and generous gesture, Prasher gave tribute to the three Nobel winners, saying that their harder work over their entire work lives made them more deserving of the prize. (Rules stipulate that no more than three persons can share a single prize.)

I think I understand Dr. Prasher’s attitude. I have found over the years that those in my line of work, high school science teaching, regularly give away discoveries of innovative methods for conducting traditional lab experiments and the like. We are more than happy to share “shop secrets” with interested colleagues in school departments or at conferences. The reward for us is not professional recognition by our peers, job promotions, or more money. It’s usually just the thrill of finding better ways for students to better understand science concepts. The “aha” light turning on in student’s eyes is my reward.

A special thanks to Bryan Bacon and The Huntsville Times