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Tsien (Roger) Papers
MSS 0792  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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