Dr. Roscoe R. “Ike” Robinson and wife Ann receive a standing ovation Tuesday at the lecture named in his honor. (photos by Dana Johnson)
Bioinformatics pioneer delivers Robinson Lecture, lauds advances in scientific field
Keynote speaker Russell F. Doolittle, Ph.D., left, talks with Dr. Jacek Hawiger, Oswald T. Avery Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and Dr. William Stead, associate vice chancellor for Health Affairs, at the lecture Tuesday.
Bioinformatics, the use of computer databases in biological research, has greatly accelerated the pace of discoveries in fields as diverse as genetics and drug development.
Its roots can be found in molecular evolution, a study of the history of genes, proteins and organisms, said Russell F. Doolittle, Ph.D., a pioneer in both fields who delivered the 2002 Roscoe R. Robinson Lecture on Tuesday.
In the 1960s, scientists studying molecular evolution “realized that sequences — protein sequences at first, and RNA and then likely DNA sequences — are digital,” said Doolittle, research professor of biology and chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. “We had at our disposal this wonderful digital tool — the digital computer.”
Over time, as computers became faster and capable of handling more information, so did the speed of discovery. “The computer actually finds more than we want to know sometimes,” Doolittle quipped.
Doolittle is well known for his studies of the evolution of proteins that cause blood clots to form, such as fibrinogen. The fibrinogen molecule found in primitive vertebrates, such as the lamprey, a primitive, eel-like fish, has provided clues to how the human protein functions, he said.
Doolittle’s lab successfully analyzed the amino acid sequence of the human fibrinogen molecule in 1979. He also constructed his own data bank of protein sequences, a forerunner of the modern field of bioinformatics.
The first Robinson lecture, named for the former vice chancellor for Health Affairs, was given in 1999 by J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., who helped lead the race to sequence the human genome.
“Ike” Robinson, who attended Tuesday’s lecture in Light Hall with his wife, Ann, was vice chancellor between 1981 and 1997.
During that period, the medical school faculty more than doubled, the research space doubled, and the budget rose from $160 million to $770 million, said Dr. Robert D. Collins, John L. Shapiro Chair in Pathology.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have had Ike as the captain of this ship,” Collins said. “From 1981 to 1997, Ann and Ike Robinson brought to Nashville and the University a spirit of collegiality, a warmth of personal relationships and a pride of accomplishment that transformed this place and our rapport with this community.”