At Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Betsy and John Sutherland joined the laboratory of Friedrich Ernst Hahn in the Department of Molecular Biology as postdoctoral fellows. It was the only time in their careers that they worked together in the same lab full time.
Among the questions the couple examined is why certain molecules that insert between DNA bases in the helix prevent formation of pyrimidine dimers, which is the characteristic damage to DNA that UV radiation produces. Others thought the inserting molecules prevent dimer formation by physically keeping the DNA bases apart. Betsy and John discovered that the effect is due to excited-state energy transfer.
The work produced five papers with only Betsy and John as coauthors. It was made possible by John’s expertise in spectroscopy and Betsy’s ability to quantify pyrimidine dimers.
At Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in Washington, D.C., Betsy and John Sutherland joined the laboratory of Friedrich Ernst Hahn in the Department of Molecular Biology as postdoctoral fellows. It was the only time in their careers that they worked together in the same lab full time.
Betsy and I, we generated our own ideas by talking to each other. That was a great, great experience.
Among the questions the couple examined is why certain molecules that insert between DNA bases in the helix prevent formation of pyrimidine dimers, which is the characteristic damage to DNA that UV radiation produces.
Others thought the inserting molecules prevent dimer formation by physically keeping the DNA bases apart. Betsy and John discovered that the effect is also due to excited-state energy transfer.
The work produced five papers with only Betsy and John as coauthors. It was made possible by John’s expertise in spectroscopy and Betsy’s ability to quantify pyrimidine dimers.
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