Joram Piatigorsky | |
|---|---|
 Image of Joram Piatigorsky | |
| Born | February 24, 1940 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology Harvard University |
| Occupation | Molecular biologist |
| Spouse |
Lona Shepley (m. 1969) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Gregor Piatigorsky and Jacqueline de Rothschild |
Joram Piatigorsky (born February 24, 1940) is an American molecular biologist and eye researcher. [1] He was the founding chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (1981–2009). [2] He is the recipient of the 2008 Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research. [3]
He is the son of cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and Jacqueline de Rothschild.[4]
Piatigorsky is the author of several books, including a scientific textbook, a memoir, a novel and a collection of short stories. Over the course of his career in science, he has published more than 300 scientific articles, reviews and book chapters on vision research.[5]
In Gene Sharing and Evolution: The Diversity of Protein Functions (Harvard University Press 2007),[6] Piatigorsky summarized and extended his "gene sharing" concept. [7]
He co-edited a book on an international symposium he organized: Molecular Biology of the Eye: Genes, Vision and Ocular Disease.[8]
His debut novel, Jellyfish Have Eyes (IP Books, 2014), forewarns of the danger of reducing funding for basic research,[9] and has garnered positive reviews in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.[10][11][12]
In his memoir, The Speed of Dark (Adelaide Books, 2018), Piatigorsky reflects on his 50-year career as a scientific researcher and describes how his family's pursuit of excellence and his father's quest for musical perfection influenced and inspired his own scientific career. [13] [14]
