# John Heuser > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Heuser > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Heuser.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heuser > Source revision: 1321087484 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **John E. Heuser** (born August 29, 1942) is an American Professor of [Biophysics](/source/Biophysics) in the department of [Cell Biology](/source/Cell_Biology) and [Physiology](/source/Physiology) at the [Washington University School of Medicine](/source/Washington_University_School_of_Medicine)[1] as well as a Professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) at [Kyoto University](/source/Kyoto_University).[2] Heuser created quick-freeze deep-etch [electron microscopy](/source/Electron_microscopy) (a variant of [cell unroofing](/source/Cell_unroofing)), a pioneering technique that lets biologists take detailed pictures of fleeting events inside living [cells](/source/Cell_(biology)). For decades, Heuser has used this technique to capture details of the molecular mechanisms that underlie many basic biological activities, including [nerve cell](/source/Nerve_cell) signal transmission, [muscle contraction](/source/Muscle_contraction), and most recently, the fusion of [viruses](/source/Viruses) with cells during the spread of infection. He compares quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy to using a stroboscopic flash to freeze the action in a photograph. To make it possible to image the frozen sample with an electron microscope, Heuser adds an ultra-thin film of metallic [platinum](/source/Platinum) that molds snugly against the sample's frozen surface contours. He and others in his lab have worked to make the equipment and procedures necessary for this process available to researchers around the world. Currently Heuser has patents pending on [Washington University in St. Louis](/source/Washington_University_in_St._Louis)'s behalf for even more advanced versions of his quick-freezing machines. Heuser graduated [magna cum laude](/source/Magna_cum_laude) from [Harvard Medical School](/source/Harvard_Medical_School) in 1969 and joined the Washington University faculty as a professor of [biophysics](/source/Biophysics) in 1980. He is currently associate editor of the *Journal of Neurocytology* and previously served as associate editor of the *Journal of Cell Biology*. His [curriculum vitae](/source/Curriculum_vitae) lists over 200 scientific publications.[3] He was elected as a fellow of the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences) class of 2005[4] and of the [American Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science) in 2007. Heuser was also elected as a member of the [National Academy of Sciences](/source/United_States_National_Academy_of_Sciences) in 2011.[5] ## Current research - Freeze-etch [electron microscopy](/source/Electron_microscopy) as applied to cell and molecular biology - The structural basis of neuronal [synaptic transmission](/source/Synaptic_transmission) Heuser explains what is done in his laboratory: "Electron microscopic visualization of everything from whole cells to individual molecules is the work of this laboratory. Special emphasis is given to developing new methods of sample preparation that will achieve a more natural, life-like appearance of samples in the microscope. To accomplish this, we have developed what is now called the "quick-freeze, deep-etch" technique for electron microscopy and have disseminated the equipment and procedures needed to carry out this technique throughout the field. Currently, we use "quick-freezing" to capture several different cellular processes that are unusually fleeting, including membrane budding and fusion, synaptic vesicle discharge during neural transmission, movement of [cilia](/source/Cilia) and [flagella](/source/Flagella) on [vertebrate](/source/Vertebrate) and [protozoal](/source/Protozoal) cells, and muscle contraction. In each case, our aim has been to visualize the underlying molecular mechanisms occurring. We also use "deep-etching" to visualize molecules [adsorbed](/source/Adsorbed) to inert substrates in order to study mechanisms of [macromolecular](/source/Macromolecular) assembly and disassembly in various processes, including remodeling of cytoskeletons, [clathrin](/source/Clathrin)-mediated [endocytosis](/source/Endocytosis), cell-to-cell recognition, and the formation of extracellular matrices."[citation needed] ## Experience - 1963–1967 Undergraduate apprentice in J. David Robertson's Electron Microscopy Lab, Harvard Medical School and the [McLean Hospital](/source/McLean_Hospital), Belmont, MA - 1969–1974 USPHS Fellow and Moseley Travelling Fellow of Harvard University, as Postdoctoral trainee in the Biophysics Unit of University College, London, under [Sir Bernard Katz](/source/Sir_Bernard_Katz) and Ricardo Miledi - 1970–1972 USPHS Military service in Laboratory of [Neuropathology](/source/Neuropathology) and Neuroanatomical Sciences, NINCDS, Bethesda, MD with Thomas S. Reese - 1974–1980 Assistant, Associate, and then Full Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, [University of California](/source/University_of_California), San Francisco, CA - 1980– Professor of Biophysics, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, [Washington University School of Medicine](/source/Washington_University_School_of_Medicine), St. Louis, MO ## Professional activities - Associate Editor of the Journal of Cell Biology (past) - Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurocytology (current) - Service to editorial boards of: [Journal of Neurophysiology](/source/Journal_of_Neurophysiology), [Brain Research](/source/Brain_Research), [Journal of Comparative Neurology](/source/Journal_of_Comparative_Neurology), [Journal of Neuroscience Methods](/source/Journal_of_Neuroscience_Methods), [Gastroenterology](/source/Gastroenterology), [Cell](/source/Cell_(journal)), [Anatomical Record](/source/Anatomical_Record), [Journal of Molecular Biology](/source/Journal_of_Molecular_Biology) - Ad Hoc reviewer for NINCDS, NCRR, and [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) ## Education - 1964, B.A., cum laude, [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_College) - 1969, M.D., magna cum laude, [Harvard Medical School](/source/Harvard_Medical_School) - 1970–1973, Graduate studies in Biophysics, [University College London](/source/University_College_London) ## Teaching activities - 1980–1990 Lecturer (with [Ursula Goodenough](/source/Ursula_Goodenough)) in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and [Neurobiology](/source/Neurobiology) - 1980–1995 Lecturer in Washington University Medical School courses in Cell Biology and Neurobiology - 1974–1980 Lecturer in [UCSF](/source/UCSF_School_of_Medicine) graduate and medical school courses: Cell Biology and Neurobiology - 1974–1995 Director of graduate course: Neuroanatomical Methods - 1975–1998 Instructor, Summer Neurobiology course, [Marine Biological Laboratory](/source/Marine_Biological_Laboratory), Woods Hole, MA ## Awards Heuser was the inaugural recipient of the [American Association for Anatomy's](/source/American_Association_for_Anatomy) R.R. Bensley Award, in 1979.[6] ## External links - [Heuserlab homepage](http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061208061940/http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/) December 8, 2006 at the Wayback Machine - [John Heuser's Publications (1966–present)](http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/heuser-cv.shtml) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070418041900/http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/heuser-cv.shtml) April 18, 2007 at the Wayback Machine ## References 1. ["Heuserlab: Welcome"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061208061940/http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/). Archived from [the original](http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/) on December 8, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2007. 1. ["Heuser, John: Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (ICeMS), Kyoto University"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110505013137/http://www.icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp/e/ppl/grp/heuser.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.icems.kyoto-u.ac.jp/e/ppl/grp/heuser.html) on May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2011. 1. ["Heuserlab: John Heuser's CV"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070418041900/http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/heuser-cv.shtml). Archived from [the original](http://www.heuserlab.wustl.edu/heuser-cv.shtml) on April 18, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007. 1. ["3 faculty members elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences | the Source | Washington University in St. Louis"](http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/5218.aspx). May 5, 2005. 1. ["National Academy of Sciences: About the NAS: News"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110507232125/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=News_May_3_2011_member_election). Archived from [the original](http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename%3DNews_May_3_2011_member_election) on May 7, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 1. Pauly, John E. (ed.) (1987). *The American Association of Anatomists, 1888-1987: essays on the history of anatomy in America and a report on the membership--past and present*. 1st ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-683-06800-9. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Heuser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heuser) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heuser?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.