William J. Rutter
UCSF will host a symposium on Thursday, Nov. 29 titled "Hippocrates Meets Silicon Valley" to honor William J. Rutter, PhD, a pioneer of the biotechnology industry and visionary UCSF leader.
Under Rutter's leadership as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF made some of the most important contributions in biotechnology, including developing recombinant DNA techniques and cloning of the genes for insulin and human growth hormone. In 1981, Rutter co-founded Chiron, a leading biotechnology company dedicated to treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases. He has received many honors and awards for his life's work.
The campus community is invited to the November 29 symposium, which will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., at the UCSF Mission Bay Community Center, 1675 Owens St. Reservations for the symposium are required. Please respond to 415/502-4337 or
email.
The symposium will feature UCSF and industry leaders who will talk about the intersection of medical science and information technology. Moira Gunn, PhD, host of NPR's
Tech Nation and
Biotech Nation, will serve as moderator. Speakers and topics include:
* Joseph DeRisi, PhD, UCSF professor of biochemistry and biophysics, will present "Drugs, Bugs and Microarrays"
* Eric Dishman, PhD, global director of Health Research & Innovation at Intel Corp., will present "Minding Behaviors: New Approaches to Intervention and Care"
* Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, UCSF professor of surgery and radiology and director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center, will present "Transforming Breast Cancer in Real Time with Information Technology"
* Darren Platt, MD, senior director of research at 23andMe, will present "Bytes, Genes and People"
* Matt Sanders, PhD, chief executive officer at iMetrikus, will present "The Power of Metrics: Personal Health Management"
Legacy at UCSF
Rutter joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF in 1968 as Herzstein Professor and served as chair until 1982. As chair of the department, Rutter spearheaded the drive to turn the department into a leading research organization, with emphasis on taking an interdisciplinary molecular approach.
Rutter's contributions helped make UCSF known as national leader in the study of basic biological and genetic research. From 1983 through 1989, he served as director of UCSF's Hormone Research Institute. He became professor emeritus in 1991.
Lloyd H. "Holly" Smith, MD, who joined UCSF as chair of the Department of Medicine in 1964 and led the department through a period of exceptional growth, describes Rutter's legacy at UCSF this way. "No history of UCSF in the past generation would be complete without an analysis of Bill Rutter's seminal catalysis," Smith wrote in an introduction to Rutter's interview for the UCSF Oral History Program.
"Most of his academic colleagues, of whom I was privileged to be one, would concur that no other single individual played a more pivotal role in guiding the future of the institution during the past generation - in part because of the position he occupied as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, but more particularly because of his vision, vigor and leadership of the whole of UCSF's basic science community."
Even after leaving UCSF, Rutter helped shape the future of UCSF as an organizer and chair of the Bay Area Life Sciences Alliance (BALSA), a group of local business leaders interested in assisting the University and developing the life sciences industry in San Francisco. UCSF and BALSA formed a unique, nonprofit, public-private partnership to ensure UCSF's new campus remained in the City and to manage campus construction at Mission Bay.
Related Links:
The UCSF Oral History Program and the Program in the History of the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, William J. Rutter, PhD (PDF)
