Jean Beggs is a geneticist whose development of a shuttle vector for propagating genes in both the bacterium Escherichia coli and budding yeast allowed highly efficient gene cloning in yeast and helped to pave the way for the development of recombinant DNA technology for eukaryotic organisms.
Jean has also used yeast to study the key proteins and mechanisms involved in the splicing of messenger RNA — the editing process which removes the parts of genes that do not code for proteins, prior to protein synthesis.
She has received many accolades in recognition of her work, including, in 2003 the Society’s Gabor Medal — which recognises interdisciplinary work linked to the life sciences — and the Novartis Medal and Prize of the Biochemical Society in 2004. Jean is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was named a CBE in 2006. She was the Royal Society Darwin Trust Research Professor from 2005 until 2016..
Professional position
- Emeritus Professor of Molecular Biology, Wellcome Centre For Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh
Subject groups
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Molecules of Life
Biochemistry and molecular biology, Cell biology (incl molecular cell biology)
Awards
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Gabor Medal
For her contributions to the isolation and manipulation of recombinant DNA molecules in a eukaryotic organism, adding a new dimension to molecular and cellular biology.
