Descriptive Summary
Scope and Content of Collection
Biography
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Publication Rights
Restrictions
Descriptive Summary
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Roger Tsien Papers
Creator:
Tsien, Roger Y.
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0792
Physical Description:
9.25 Linear feet
(22 archives boxes, 1 card file box, 2 oversized folders)
Date (inclusive): 1972-2010
Abstract: Papers of Roger Y. Tsien (1952-2016), biochemist and professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Tsien was awarded
the Nobel Prize in 2008 for his research on green fluorescent protein. The collection includes correspondence, writings, research
materials, laboratory notebooks, and video recordings.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of Roger Y. Tsien (1952-2016), biochemist and professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry at the University
of California, San Diego and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Tsien shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for his
research on the development and expression of green fluorescent protein. The collection includes correspondence, writings,
research materials, laboratory notebooks, and video recordings.
Arranged in five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS, 3) RESEARCH PROJECTS, 4) TEACHING MATERIALS, and 5) VIDEO RECORDINGS.
Biography
Roger Yonchien Tsien was born February 1, 1952 in New York City. At the age of sixteen, he was awarded first prize in the
1968 Westinghouse Science Talent Search. He attended Harvard College and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry and physics in
1972, followed by a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Cambridge in 1977. Tsien was a research fellow at Cambridge
from 1977 to 1981, and assistant professor of physiology and anatomy at UC Berkeley from 1982-1989. In 1989, he became professor
of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry at UC San Diego, as well as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Tsien was best known for his research in the expression and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Originally found
in bioluminescent jellyfish, fluorescent proteins can be used to tag proteins in living cells, allowing biological processes
to be viewed in real time. Tsien and his colleagues Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory and Martin Chalfie
of Columbia University shared the Nobel Prize in 2008 for their discovery and research into green fluorescent protein. Tsien
and his laboratory at UC San Diego developed a variety of colors of fluorescent proteins, which could be used to visualize
biological functions simultaneously, and developed fluorescent dyes for use in calcium imaging.
Roger Tsien was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Institute
of Medicine, and the Royal Society of London. He received the UC San Diego Lifetime Innovation Award in 2009, and the Wolf
Prize in Medicine in 2004. Tsien died on August 24, 2016 in Eugene, Oregon.
Preferred Citation
Roger Tsien Papers. MSS 792. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2017
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Restrictions
Original video recordings are restricted. Researchers may request viewing copies in advance of their visit.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Green fluorescent protein
Biochemists -- California -- San Diego
Tsien, Roger Y. -- Archives
University of California, San Diego. School of Medicine -- Faculty -- Archives