John G. White (biologist)

{{short description|Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Molecular Biology}} {{For|other people called John White|John White (disambiguation){{!}}John White}} {{EngvarB|date=July 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} {{Infobox scientist | name = John White | birth_name = John Graham White | image =  | image_size = | alt = | caption = | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRS|size=100}} | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1943}}<ref name="wormbook"/> | birth_place = Wales | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = {{Plainlist| * Neuroanatomy * Connectomics * Biophotonics * Cell division<ref name="jgw"/>}} | workplaces = {{Plainlist| * University of Cambridge * University of Wisconsin–Madison * Laboratory of Molecular Biology * National Institute for Medical Research<ref name="wormbook"/>}} | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * Brunel University (BSc)<ref name="wormbook"/> * University of Cambridge (PhD)}} | thesis_title = Computer aided reconstruction of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans | thesis_url = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.233920 | thesis_year = 1975 | doctoral_advisor = Sydney Brenner | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = Richard Durbin<ref name="durbinphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Richard Michael|last=Durbin |title=Studies on the development and organisation of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1987 |url=https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/permalink/f/16u99e0/44CAM_ALMA21431241350003606|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.233920}}|authorlink=Richard M. Durbin}}</ref> | notable_students = {{Plainlist| * Julie Ahringer<ref name=ahringer>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0092-8674(03)00985-1 | last1 = Malone | first1 = C. J. | last2 = Misner | first2 = L. | last3 = Le Bot | first3 = N. | last4 = Tsai | first4 = M. C. | last5 = Campbell | first5 = J. M. | last6 = Ahringer | first6 = J. | last7 = White | first7 = J. G. | title = The C. Elegans hook protein, ZYG-12, mediates the essential attachment between the centrosome and nucleus | journal = Cell | volume = 115 | issue = 7 | pages = 825–836 | year = 2003 | pmid = 14697201 | s2cid = 2605372 | doi-access = free }}</ref> * Tony Hyman<ref name=hyman>{{cite web | url=https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research-groups/current-groups/anthony-hyman/group-leader/ | title=Anthony Hyman: Group Leader|website=mpi-cbg.de|author=Anon|year=2022|publisher=Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics }}</ref>}} | known_for = Research using ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' | influences = | influenced = | awards = {{Plainlist| * Mullard Award (1994) * EMBO Member (1994)<ref name=membo/> * Wiley Prize (2026)}} | signature =  | signature_alt = | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = | spouse = }} '''John Graham White''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRS}}<ref name=frs>{{cite web|author=Anon |year=2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117112042/https://royalsociety.org/people/john-white-12519/ |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/john-white-12519/ |publisher=royalsociety.org |location=London |title=Dr John White FRS }} One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: {{quote|"All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." --{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |title=Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies |access-date=9 March 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925220834/https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |archive-date=25 September 2015 }}}}</ref> (born 1943)<ref name="wormbook"/> is an Emeritus Professor of Anatomy and Molecular Biology<ref name="wormbook">{{Cite journal | last1 = White | first1 = J. G. | title = Getting into the mind of a worm—a personal view | doi = 10.1895/wormbook.1.158.1 | journal = WormBook | pages = 1–10 | year = 2013 | pmid = 23801597 | pmc = 4781474 }}</ref><ref name="jgw">{{cite web|url=http://directory.engr.wisc.edu/bme/faculty/white_john |title=White, John - UW-Engineering Directory, College of Engineering @ The University of Wisconsin-Madison |archive-date=9 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209052257/http://directory.engr.wisc.edu/bme/faculty/white_john |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="scopus">{{Scopus id}}</ref> at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Squirrell | first1 = J. M. | last2 = Wokosin | first2 = D. L. | last3 = White | first3 = J. G. | last4 = Bavister | first4 = B. D. | title = Long-term two-photon fluorescence imaging of mammalian embryos without compromising viability | journal = Nature Biotechnology | volume = 17 | issue = 8 | pages = 763–767 | year = 1999 | doi = 10.1038/11698 | pmid = 10429240| pmc = 5087329}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/0012-1606(81)90284-0 | last1 = Kimble | first1 = J. E. | authorlink1 = Judith Kimble | last2 = White | first2 = J. G. | authorlink2 = John White (biologist) | title = On the control of germ cell development in Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = Developmental Biology | volume = 81 | issue = 2 | pages = 208–219 | year = 1981 | pmid = 7202837 }}</ref><ref name="hodgkin">{{Cite journal | last1 = Chalfie | first1 = M. | last2 = Eddy | first2 = S. | authorlink2 = Sean Eddy | last3 = Hengartner | first3 = M. O. | last4 = Hodgkin | first4 = J. | authorlink4 = Jonathan Hodgkin | last5 = Kohara | first5 = Y. | last6 = Plasterk | first6 = R. H. | last7 = Waterston | first7 = R. H. | last8 = White | first8 = J. G. | authorlink8 = John White (biologist) | title = Genome maps. VI. Caenorhabditis elegans. Wall chart | journal = Science | volume = 270 | issue = 5235 | pages = 415–430 | year = 1995 | pmid = 7569996 | doi = 10.1126/science.270.5235.410 | s2cid = 42933365 }}</ref> His research interests are in the biology of the model organism ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' and laser microscopy.<ref name=gs>{{Google scholar id}}</ref>

==Education== White was educated at Brunel University, where he was awarded an undergraduate degree in Physics in 1969.<ref name="wormbook"/> He went on to study for his PhD<ref name="whitephd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=John |last=White |title=Computer aided reconstruction of the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1975 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=15189 |id={{EThOS|477040}} |oclc=500588370 |website=cam.ac.uk |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-date=6 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406140603/https://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo%3fbibId=15189 |url-status=dead }}</ref> at University of Cambridge in 1975 for work on computer-aided reconstruction of the nervous system of ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' supervised by Sydney Brenner.<ref name="wormbook"/>

==Research and career== After working at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, White moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1993.<ref name="wormbook"/> White's research investigates cell division in the nematode ''Caenorhabditis elegans''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Hyman | first1 = A. A. | last2 = White | first2 = J. G. | title = Determination of cell division axes in the early embryogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 105 | issue = 5 | pages = 2123–2135 | year = 1987 | pmid = 3680373 | pmc = 2114830 | doi=10.1083/jcb.105.5.2123 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Podbilewicz | first1 = B. | last2 = White | first2 = J. G. | authorlink2 = John White (biologist) | title = Cell fusions in the developing epithelial of C. Elegans | journal = Developmental Biology | volume = 161 | issue = 2 | pages = 408–424 | year = 1994 | pmid = 8313992 | doi=10.1006/dbio.1994.1041 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = White | first1 = J. | authorlink1 = John White (biologist) | last2 = Strome | first2 = S. | title = Cleavage plane specification in C. Elegans: How to divide the spoils | journal = Cell | volume = 84 | issue = 2 | pages = 195–198 | year = 1996 | pmid = 8565065 | doi=10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80974-5 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = O'Connell | first1 = K. F. | last2 = Leys | first2 = C. M. | last3 = White | first3 = J. G. | authorlink3 = John White (biologist) | title = A genetic screen for temperature-sensitive cell-division mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = Genetics | volume = 149 | issue = 3 | pages = 1303–1321 | year = 1998 | doi = 10.1093/genetics/149.3.1303 | pmid = 9649522 | pmc = 1460235 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Hird | first1 = S. N. | last2 = White | first2 = J. G. | authorlink2 = John White (biologist) | title = Cortical and cytoplasmic flow polarity in early embryonic cells of Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = The Journal of Cell Biology | volume = 121 | issue = 6 | pages = 1343–1355 | year = 1993 | pmid = 8509454 | pmc = 2119718 | doi=10.1083/jcb.121.6.1343 }}</ref> With collaborators Sydney Brenner,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rstb.1976.0086 | last1 = White | first1 = J. G. | last2 = Southgate | first2 = E. | last3 = Thomson | first3 = J. N. | last4 = Brenner | first4 = S. | title = The structure of the ventral nerve cord of Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences | volume = 275 | issue = 938 | pages = 327–348 | year = 1976 | pmid = 8806 | bibcode = 1976RSPTB.275..327W | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="pmid22462104">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rstb.1986.0056 | last1 = White | first1 = J. G. | authorlink = John White (biologist) | last2 = Southgate | first2 = E. | authorlink2=Eileen Southgate | last3 = Thomson | first3 = J. N. | last4 = Brenner | first4 = S. | authorlink4 = Sydney Brenner | title = The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences | volume = 314 | issue = 1165 | pages = 1–340 | year = 1986 | pmid = 22462104 | bibcode = 1986RSPTB.314....1W | doi-access = free }}</ref> John Sulston<ref name="sulston">{{Cite journal | last1 = Sulston | first1 = J. | authorlink1 = John Sulston | last2 = Schierenberg | first2 = E. | last3 = White | first3 = J. G. | authorlink3 = John White (biologist) | last4 = Thomson | first4 = J. | title = The embryonic cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans | journal = Developmental Biology | volume = 100 | issue = 1 | pages = 64–119 | year = 1983 | pmid = 6684600 | doi = 10.1016/0012-1606(83)90201-4 }}</ref> and others, White co-developed confocal microscopy and mapped the complete nervous system of ''Caenorhabditis elegans'', consisting of 302 neurons and over 7000 synapses. The study was published in 1986 by the ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'',<ref name="pmid22462104"/> and is considered{{By whom|date=July 2016}} to be the first work in the emerging field of connectomes. More recently his research used:

{{centred pull quote|two collaborative but distinct laboratories, one a biological laboratory that investigates cell division in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and the other an interdisciplinary Biophotonics Instrumentation laboratory that develops new computational and optical techniques for live cell studies.<ref name="jgw"/>}}

White identified the first gene with a demonstrated role in determining synaptic specificity. He studied the role of cell–cell interaction in determining the lineage pattern, stimulating a wide field of research. In more recent work, White and his co-workers partially confirmed his earlier model of cytokinesis; they discovered genes controlling cytokinesis and found features previously thought specific to plant cell division. Recognising the potentialities of laser-scanning confocal microscopy, White built a prototype microscope: with Brad Amos he developed this into a commercially produced instrument now widely used.<ref name=frs/> His former doctoral students include Richard Durbin,<ref name="durbinphd"/> other notable former students include Ahna Skop, Julie Ahringer<ref name=ahringer/> and Tony Hyman.<ref name=hyman/>

===Awards and honours=== White was the recipient of the Mullard Award in 1994. He was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 1994<ref name=membo>{{cite web|url=https://people.embo.org/profile/john-g-white|title=John G. White|website=people.embo.org|author=Anon|year=1994}}</ref> and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2005.<ref name=frs/> In 2026 he was awarded the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences.<ref>[https://johnwiley2020news.q4web.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/The-24th-Annual-Wiley-Prize-in-Biomedical-Sciences-Awarded-for-Research-in-Connectomes/ Wiley Prize 2026]</ref>

The Center for Quantitative Cell Imaging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts a biennial seminar series named in honor of John White. Featured speakers have included:

*2022: Martin Chalfie; Columbia University *2018: Cornelia Bargmann; Columbia University

==Personal life== White has been professor emeritus since he retired in 2008.<ref name="wormbook"/>

==References== {{Reflist|35em}} {{CC-notice|cc=by4|url= https://royalsociety.org/people/john-white-12519/}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, John Graham}} Category:Living people Category:1943 births Category:Nematologists Category:Fellows of the Royal Society Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge Category:Caenorhabditis elegans