Kim Sung-Hou

Infobox Korean name
hangul=김성호
hanja=金聖浩
rr=
mr=

Kim Sung-Hou Ph.D. is a Korean-born American crystallographer and protein biophysicist. Dr. Kim reported first 3D structure of tRNA with A. Rich in 1973.cite journal |author=Kim SH, Quigley GJ, Suddath FL, "et al" |title=Three-dimensional structure of yeast phenylalanine transfer RNA: folding of the polynucleotide chain |journal=Science |volume=179 |issue=70 |pages=285–8 |year=1973 |pmid=4566654 |doi=] He also published many papers on the structures of protein molecules including Ras. [cite journal |author=de Vos AM, Tong L, Milburn MV, "et al" |title=Three-dimensional structure of an oncogene protein: catalytic domain of human c-H-ras p21 |journal=Science |volume=239 |issue=4842 |pages=888–93 |year=1988 |pmid=2448879 |doi=] He is a member of U.S. National Academy of Science since 1994. He is currently a professor and a senior scientist at chemistry department of U.C. Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory(LBL), respectively.

Controversy over structure of tRNA

Therer had been some intense competition among several groups worldwide for solving the 3D structure of tRNA during sixties and early seventies. Final round of that was between MIT's Rich group and Aaron Klug's group at Cambridge. Dr. Kim first published 4Å structure in "Science" in 1973. Next year his group came up with 3Å structure. [cite journal |author=Suddath FL, Quigley GJ, McPherson A, "et al" |title=Three-dimensional structure of yeast phenylalanine transfer RNA at 3.0angstroms resolution |journal=Nature |volume=248 |issue=443 |pages=20–4 |year=1974 |pmid=4594440 |doi=] But from Klug group's argument, [cite journal |author=Clark BF |title=The crystallization and structural determination of tRNA |journal=Trends Biochem. Sci. |volume=26 |issue=8 |pages=511–4 |year=2001 |doi=10.1016/S0968-0004(01)01910-7 "Brian FC Clark's reminiscence on the tRNA structure" [http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci/oct2006/453.pdf pdf] ] after a symposium held in June 1974, where Kim's group arguably heard the different results of Klug's experiment, they rewritten and published revised paper on 3Å structure within a month in "Science", [cite journal |author=Kim SH, Suddath FL, Quigley GJ, "et al" |title=Three-dimensional tertiary structure of yeast phenylalanine transfer RNA |journal=Science |volume=185 |issue=149 |pages=435–40 |year=1974 |pmid=4601792 |doi=] which was two weeks before Klug's publishment in "Nature" on 3Å structure. [cite journal |author=Robertus JD, Ladner JE, Finch JT, "et al" |title=Structure of yeast phenylalanine tRNA at 3 A resolution |journal=Nature |volume=250 |issue=467 |pages=546–51 |year=1974 |pmid=4602655 |doi=] Klug complained to Francis Crick, who wrote the letters to A. Rich concerning the accusations. [ [http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/X/Y/_/scbbxy.pdf Crick's first letter to A. Rich on the accusation, Jul 1974] ] However, Rich denied the scientific misconduct. [ [http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/B/P/P/_/scbbpp.pdf Rich's reply to Crick's first letter, Aug 1974] ]

Biographical information

*Born 1937, South Korea
*B.S.(1960), M.S.(1962) in chemistry, Seoul National University, South Korea
*Ph.D(1966) University of Pittsburgh
*Research Associate M.I.T. (1966-70) under A. Rich
*Senior Research Scientist M.I.T. (1970-72) with A. Rich
*Faculty of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine (1972-78)
*Professor, University of California, Berkeley (1978- )

References

External links

* [http://chem.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/kim/kimgroup/index.html Kim group webpage at Cal]