Oral Histories

Interview of Bruce J. Nicholson

Subtitle:
Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences: Bruce J. Nicholson
Series:
Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences
Topic:
Science, Medicine, and Technology
Interviewer:
Hathaway, Neil D.
Interviewee:
Nicholson, Bruce J.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Series Statement:
Interviews in this series, sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, document the research of "outstanding scientists from quality institutions" chosen by the Pew Scholars Program to receive four-year stipends.
Abstract:
Schooling in Brisbane, Australia; undergraduate and graduate courses of study at University of Queensland; thesis research on jack bean urease with Burt Zerner and Robert L. Blakely; why Australian scientists choose to leave Australia; begins graduate studies at California Institute of Technology; chooses to study ion channels with Jean-Paul Revel; sequencing rat liver gap junction proteins; history of the channel protein field; Frederick Sachs and research on stretch-activated channels; role of proline in gap junctions; accepts a postdoc in Norman Davidson's lab; sequencing connexin 26; accepts a position at State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo; the collegial atmosphere in the Department of Biological Sciences at SUNY Buffalo; lab setup and management; teaching responsibilities; mentoring; collaborating with Klaus Willecke, Bernhard Dobberstein, and Daniel B. Gros; using mutagenesis to analyze the structure and function of connexins; the relationship of cell coupling to cell transformation; gap junction studies in the context of cancer research; future directions of study; Nicholson's wife, Xochitl Escarcega Nicholson, and family.