CONTACT: Tara A. Ellis
(716) 898- 8596
FOR RELEASE: Thursday, October 8, 2009
SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE’S DR. JACK JOHNSON TO KICK OFF
HAUPTMAN-WOODWARD 2009-2010 STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES
Jack Johnson, Ph.D., is scheduled to lecture at the Hauptman-Woodward Institute (HWI) on Thursday, October
8, 2009. Johnson plans to present a seminar entitled, “Biophysical Studies of Virus Particles and their
Maturation: Insights into Elegantly Programmed Nanomachines.” The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. at 700
Ellicott Street immediately followed by a reception.
Johnson is currently a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla,
CA. Prior to joining Scripps, he was a professor at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. Johnson examines
the structure and function of viruses, with interests in modes of viral entry, disassembly, assembly, and
maturation and in the recognition events associated with each of these processes.
He received his bachelor’s degree at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin and his Ph.D. at Iowa State
University. Johnson then completed his post doctoral research in Virus Crystallography at Purdue University.
ABOUT HWI
With more than 50 years of exceptional scientific research, HWI is an internationally-renowned independent,
non-profit facility specializing in the area of fundamental biomedical research known as structural biology.
HWI’s team of more than 75 staff members is committed to improving human health by studying the causes of
diseases, as well as potential therapies, at their basic molecular level. HWI is located in the heart of the Buffalo
Niagara Medical Campus in downtown Buffalo, New York, in a new state-of-the-art structural biology research
center at 700 Ellicott Street. For more information, visit HWI’s website at www.hwi.buffalo.edu or call 716898-8600.
ABOUT THE SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Scripps Research Institute, one of the country’s largest, private, non-profit research organizations, has
always stood at the forefront of basic biomedical science, a vital segment of medical research that seeks to
comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. In just three decades the Institute has established a lengthy
track record of major contributions to the betterment of health and the human condition.
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