Olaf Schneewind (1961–2019) was a German-born American microbiologist who made important contributions to the study of bacterial cell wall composition and assembly as well as the pathogenesis of the microbial species S. aureus.[1] He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018.[2]
Olaf Schneewind | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 June 1961 Germany |
| Died | 26 May 2019 (aged 57) |
| Nationality | Germany United States |
| Alma mater | University of Cologne |
| Known for | S. aureus pathogenesis |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles University of Chicago |
| Doctoral students | |
Career
editSchneewind was born in Germany and attended the University of Cologne. He completed postdoctoral training with Vincent Fischetti at Rockefeller University.[1] Schneewind subsequently joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles in 1992.[2] His first major discovery as an independent investigator was the finding that the surface proteins of gram-positive bacteria are cleaved between the T and G residue in the LPXTG sortase signal by the enzyme sortase (the enzyme was not discovered yet, but was later shown by him to be responsible for the cleavage) in order to be anchored to the cell wall.[3]
In 2001, Schneewind began teaching at the University of Chicago within the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology. In 2004, he was named the founding chair of the Department of Microbiology. He assumed the Louis Block Professorship and remained at UChicago until his death from cancer on May 26, 2019.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Olaf Schneewind, world-renowned authority on infectious diseases, 1961-2019 | University of Chicago News". Republished as: "Department of Microbiology mourns the loss of Louis Block Professor and Chair Olaf Schneewind". University of Chicago Department of Microbiology. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Olaf Schneewind". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ Navarre WW, Schneewind O (1994). "Proteolytic cleavage and cell wall anchoring at the LPXTG motif of surface proteins in gram-positive bacteria". Mol Microbiol. 14 (1): 115–21. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb01271.x. PMID 7830549. S2CID 9501258.