# Jerry Adams > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jerry_Adams > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jerry_Adams.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Adams > Source revision: 1339413057 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Australian-American molecular biologist (born 1940)}} {{Distinguish|Gerry Adams (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Jerry Adams | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|FRS|FAA|FAHMS|FRSV}} | image = | birth_date = {{birth date and age |1940|df=yes|6|17}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | citizenship = | fields = Genetics, molecular biology | workplaces = {{plainlist| * [The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research](/source/The_Walter_and_Eliza_Hall_Institute_of_Medical_Research) * }} | education = {{plainlist| *[Emory University](/source/Emory_University) *[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) *[University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) }} | known_for = Cloning mammalian genes | awards = | spouse = [Suzanne Cory](/source/Suzanne_Cory) | children = 2 }} '''Jerry McKee Adams''' (born 17 June 1940) is an Australian-American [molecular biologist](/source/molecular_biologist) whose research into the [genetics](/source/genetics) of [haemopoietic](/source/hemopoiesis) [differentiation](/source/differentiation_(cellular)) and [malignancy](/source/malignancy), led him and his wife, Professor [Suzanne Cory](/source/Suzanne_Cory), to be the first two [scientist](/source/scientist)s to pioneer [gene](/source/gene) [cloning](/source/cloning) techniques in Australia, and to successfully clone [mammal](/source/mammal)ian genes. Adams currently shares (with Andreas Strasser) the position of Joint-Head of the [Molecular Genetics](/source/molecular_genetics) of [Cancer](/source/Cancer) Division at [The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research](/source/The_Walter_and_Eliza_Hall_Institute_of_Medical_Research) (WEHI) in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) (Australia). Their [research](/source/research), following that by [Susumu Tonegawa](/source/Susumu_Tonegawa), also led to the discovery that [antibody](/source/antibody) genes encode as bits and pieces, that can recombine in a myriad of ways to help fight [infection](/source/infection); they also confirmed earlier work by Shen-Ong & Cole, Leder, Hood, Croce, and Hayward that genetic [mutation](/source/mutation) leads to [Burkitt's lymphoma](/source/Burkitt's_lymphoma), a malignancy of antibody-producing [cell](/source/cell_(biology))s, called "[B lymphocytes](/source/B_lymphocytes)". It was in Adams' lab that his PhD student, David Vaux, made the connection between [apoptosis](/source/apoptosis) (programmed cell death) and [cancer](/source/cancer), while studying the [bcl-2 gene](/source/bcl-2_gene) in [follicular lymphoma](/source/follicular_lymphoma), the most common human lymphoma. ==Career== He studied for his B.Sc. at [Emory University](/source/Emory_University) in Atlanta, Georgia. After completing his PhD at the [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), Adams was awarded the [Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship](/source/Helen_Hay_Whitney_Foundation) to pursue [post-doctoral](/source/postdoctorate) training. He spent a year working under Professor [James Watson](/source/James_D._Watson) at the [Medical Research Council](/source/Medical_Research_Council_(United_Kingdom)) [Laboratory of Molecular Biology](/source/Laboratory_of_Molecular_Biology) in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge), England, during which he met [Suzanne Cory](/source/Suzanne_Cory), and started their long-term collaboration. They moved to the ''Institut de Biologie Moléculaire'', at the [University of Geneva](/source/University_of_Geneva), where they worked under Professor A. Tissiéres. Adams and Cory subsequently moved to Australia, and began working at [WEHI](/source/WEHI) where they established the institute's first molecular genetics [laboratory](/source/laboratory). Their research first looked into how [lymphocytes](/source/lymphocytes) could produce so many different [antibodies](/source/antibody), providing insights into the constant and variable segments of antibodies, and how they are rearranged and deleted. Next, Adams and his team moved into the study of the genetics of cancer. In 2007, Adams was appointed member of the Medical Research Advisory Committee at the [Australian Cancer Research Foundation](/source/Australian_Cancer_Research_Foundation) (ACRF). He is part of a group of leading scientists who assess applications for grants for medical research received by the ACRF.{{cite web|title=ACRF Medical Research Advisory Committee|url=http://www.acrf.com.au/about-acrf/medical-research-advisory-committee/|publisher=Australian Cancer Research Foundation|accessdate=10 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518021712/https://acrf.com.au/about-acrf/medical-research-advisory-committee/|archive-date=18 May 2016|url-status=dead}} == Honours and recognition == Adams was awarded the [Lemberg Medal](/source/Lemberg_Medal) in 1986.{{Cite web |title=Lemberg Medal Winners |url=https://www.asbmb.org.au/waldronsmith.eventsair.com/lemberg-medal-winners |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology }}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He was elected a [Fellow of the Royal Society](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society) in 1992{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/jerry-adams-10965/|title=Jerry Adams-Biography|publisher= Royal Society|accessdate= 22 February 2017}} and of the [Royal Society of Victoria](/source/Royal_Society_of_Victoria) (FRSV) in 1997.{{Cite news|url=https://rsv.org.au/about-us/fellows/|title=Elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Victoria – The Royal Society of Victoria|work=The Royal Society of Victoria|access-date=2018-06-27|language=en-US}} In 2014 he was awarded the [Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture](/source/Macfarlane_Burnet_Medal_and_Lecture) by the [Australian Academy of Science](/source/Australian_Academy_of_Science).{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org.au/opportunities-scientists/recognition/honorific-awards/career-awards/macfarlane-burnet-medal-and|title=Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture|publisher= Australian Academy of Science|accessdate= 22 February 2017}} He was elected a Fellow of the [Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences](/source/Australian_Academy_of_Health_and_Medical_Sciences) in 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-26|title=29 new Fellows elected|url=https://aahms.org/news/29-new-fellows-elected/|access-date=2021-10-29|website=AAHMS – Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences|language=en-AU}} ==Private life== He is married to his fellow scientist and collaborator [Suzanne Cory](/source/Suzanne_Cory); they have 2 children. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://pubget.com/profile/author/adams%20jm Adams JM] Author Profile Page on Pubget * [https://archive.today/20121230172705/http://www.acrf.com.au/about-acrf/medical-research-advisory-committee/professor-jerry-m-adams-phd-faa-frs/ACRF MRAC] Biography courtesy of Australian Cancer Research Foundation ==Bibliography== *{{cite journal |author=Adams JM, Cory S |title=The Bcl-2 protein family: arbiters of cell survival |journal=Science |volume=281 |issue=5381 |pages=1322–6 |date=August 1998|pmid=9735050 |doi=10.1126/science.281.5381.1322}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jerry}} Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American biologists Category:Australian molecular biologists Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Australian fellows of the Royal Society Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Category:WEHI alumni Category:Fellows of the AACR Academy Category:Australian emigrants to the United States Category:Australian expatriates in England Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Category:Emory University alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:American fellows of the Royal Society Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jerry Adams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Adams) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Adams?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.