Steven Block
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Dr. Steven M. Block (born 1952) is a professor at Stanford University with a joint appointment in the departments of Biological Sciences and Applied Physics. In addition, he is a member of the scientific advisory group JASON, a senior fellow of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and an amateur bluegrass musician. Block received his B.A. and M.A. from Oxford University. His graduate work was completed in the laboratory of Howard Berg at the University of Colorado and Caltech. He received his Ph.D. in 1983 and went on to do postdoctoral research at Stanford. Since that time, Block has held positions at the Rowland Institute for Science, Harvard University, and Princeton University before returning to Stanford in 1999.
As a graduate student, Block picked apart the adaptation kinetics involved in bacterial chemotaxis. As an independent scientist, Block has pioneered the use of optical tweezers, a technique developed by Arthur Ashkin, to study biological enzymes and polymers at the single-molecule level. Work in his lab has led to the direct observation of the 8-nm steps taken by kinesin[1] and the sub-nanometer motions of RNA polymerase on a DNA template. While consulting for the United States government through JASON, Block has has researched the many threats associated with bioterrorism and headed an influential study on how advances in genetic engineering have impacted biological warfare.
[edit] References
- ^ Svoboda K, Schmidt CF, Schnapp BJ, Block SM, "Direct observation of kinesin stepping by optical trapping interferometry", Nature. 1993 Oct 21; 365: 721-726.
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See Also: Blocklab Home Page, Scienceday profile, Bioterrorism article
