# Ronald Breaker

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{{Short description|American biochemist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Ronald R. Breaker
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| birth_date        = {{Birth year and age|1964}}
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| fields            = [Biochemistry](/source/Biochemistry), [Molecular Biology](/source/Molecular_Biology)
| workplaces        = [Yale University](/source/Yale_University)
| alma_mater        = [University of Wisconsin&ndash;Stevens Point](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%26ndash%3BStevens_Point), [Purdue University](/source/Purdue_University), [Scripps Research Institute](/source/Scripps_Research_Institute)
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| doctoral_advisor  = Peter T. Gilham
| academic_advisors = [Gerald Joyce](/source/Gerald_Joyce)
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| known_for         = [Riboswitches](/source/Riboswitches), [Ribozyme](/source/Ribozyme)s, [Deoxyribozyme](/source/Deoxyribozyme)s
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| awards            = [Beckman Young Investigators Award](/source/Beckman_Young_Investigators_Award)<ref>{{cite web |title=Ronald Breaker |url=http://www.beckman-foundation.org/beckman-young-investigators/ronald-breaker |website=Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation |accessdate=1 August 2018}}</ref>
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'''Ronald R. Breaker''' (born 1964) is an American biochemist who has been a [Sterling Professor](/source/Sterling_Professor) of Molecular, Cellular, and [Developmental Biology](/source/Developmental_Biology) at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) since 1995. He is best known for the discovery of riboswitches, a common RNA regulatory element. His current research is focused on understanding advanced functions of nucleic acids, including the discovery and analysis of [riboswitches](/source/riboswitches) and [ribozymes](/source/ribozymes).<ref name="C&EN Article">{{cite news |last1=Yarnell |first1=Amanda |title=C&EN: Aha! Moments- Ronald R. Breaker |url=http://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/aha!/8213breakerfree.html? |access-date=3 June 2022 |work=pubsapp.acs.org |agency=C&EN |date=23 March 2004}}</ref>

==Research==
Ronald earned his [B.S.](/source/B.S.) in [biology](/source/biology) and [chemistry](/source/chemistry)  from the [University of Wisconsin&ndash;Stevens Point](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%26ndash%3BStevens_Point) and his Ph.D. in [biochemistry](/source/biochemistry) from [Purdue University](/source/Purdue_University) with Peter T Gilham. He was a postdoctoral fellow at [The Scripps Research Institute](/source/The_Scripps_Research_Institute) with [Gerald Joyce](/source/Gerald_Joyce). While at Scripps, he isolated the first DNA enzyme ([deoxyribozyme](/source/deoxyribozyme)).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Breaker |first1=RR |last2=Joyce |first2=GF |title=A DNA enzyme that cleaves RNA. |journal=Chemistry & Biology |date=December 1994 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=223–9 |doi=10.1016/1074-5521(94)90014-0 |pmid=9383394}}</ref> He joined the molecular, cellular, and developmental biology department at Yale University. His research group worked on in vitro engineered riboswitches, RNA biosensors, and began to look for riboswitches in nature and identified the [Cobalamin riboswitch](/source/Cobalamin_riboswitch).<ref name="C&EN Article" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nahvi |first1=A |last2=Sudarsan |first2=N |last3=Ebert |first3=MS |last4=Zou |first4=X |last5=Brown |first5=KL |last6=Breaker |first6=RR |title=Genetic control by a metabolite binding mRNA. |journal=Chemistry & Biology |date=September 2002 |volume=9 |issue=9 |pages=1043 |doi=10.1016/s1074-5521(02)00224-7 |pmid=12323379|doi-access=free }}</ref> Over the next decade, the group would perform pivotal work establishing the role of ligand-binding RNAs and resulted in the discovery of multiple classes of riboswitches.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Nicole |title=Breaker 'vastly expanded our appreciation of the versatility of noncoding RNAs in biology' |url=https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people/030116/breaker-vastly-expanded-our-appreciation-of-the-ve |work=www.asbmb.org |agency=ASBMB |publisher=ASBMB |date=1 March 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stone |first1=Melissa |title=Riboswitches: A Molecular Archeological Discovery – Yale Scientific Magazine |url=https://www.yalescientific.org/2010/02/riboswitches-a-molecular-archeological-discovery/ |work=www.yalescientific.org |publisher=yale scientific |date=25 February 2010}}</ref>

He has been a [Howard Hughes Medical Institute](/source/Howard_Hughes_Medical_Institute) Investigator since 2005.<ref name="HHMI Bio">{{cite web|title=Ronald R. Breaker|url=http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/breaker_bio.html|work=HHMI|accessdate=14 February 2013}}</ref> Breaker is a member of the [JASON defense advisory group](/source/JASON_(advisory_group)), and was elected to the [U.S. National Academy of Sciences](/source/U.S._National_Academy_of_Sciences) in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mcdb.yale.edu/people/ronald-breaker|title=Ronald Breaker, Ph.D.}}</ref>

==Awards==
*[Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/Fellow_of_the_American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science), 2004
*[American Society for Microbiology](/source/American_Society_for_Microbiology) [Eli Lilly Award](/source/Eli_Lilly_and_Company-Elanco_Research_Award), 2005
*[NAS Award in Molecular Biology](/source/NAS_Award_in_Molecular_Biology), 2006
*Rolf Sammet Professorship, [Goethe University Frankfurt](/source/Goethe_University_Frankfurt), 2012
*Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, 2010
*U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 2013 
*Distinguished Alumni Award, Purdue University, 2014
*[ASBMB](/source/American_Society_for_Biochemistry_and_Molecular_Biology)–Merck Award, 2016

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.biology.yale.edu/facultystaff/breaker.html Academic Bio]
*[http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/breaker_bio.html Howard Hughes Medical Institute bio]
*[http://breaker.sites.yale.edu/ Breaker Lab website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaker, Ronald}}
Category:1964 births
Category:Living people
Category:American biochemists
Category:Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
Category:Purdue University alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin&ndash;Stevens Point alumni
Category:Yale Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology faculty
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Scripps Research alumni
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Category:Members of JASON (advisory group)
Category:Yale Sterling Professors

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ronald Breaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Breaker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Breaker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.