Ulrich K. Laemmli (born 1940), real name Lämmli, is a Professor in the biochemistry and molecular biology departments at University of Geneva. He is known for the refinement of SDS-PAGE, a widely used method for separating proteins based on their electrophoretic mobility.[1] His paper describing the method is among the most cited scholarly journal articles of all time.[2][3][4] His current research involves studying the structural organization of nuclei and chromatin within the cell.[5]
Ulrich K. Laemmli | |
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Born | 1940 (age 83–84) |
Nationality | Swiss |
Known for | SDS-PAGE |
Awards | Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1996) Marcel Benoist Prize (1988) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biochemistry |
Institutions | University of Geneva |
Laemmli received a PhD in 1969 at the University of Geneva under Eduard Kellenberger.[6] His thesis was titled "The assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4".[7] He conducted a postdoctoral fellowship at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology under Aaron Klug.[8]
Although electrophoresis was used to separate proteins before Laemmli's work, he made significant improvements to the method. The term "Laemmli buffer" is often used to describe an SDS-containing buffer that is used to prepare (denature) samples for SDS-PAGE.[1][9]