Olaf Schneewind
Olaf Schneewind | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 23, 1961 Germany |
| Died | May 26, 2019 (aged 57) |
| Nationality | Germany United States |
| Alma mater | University of Cologne |
| Known for | S. aureus pathogenesis |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiology |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles University of Chicago |
| Doctoral students | |
Olaf Schneewind (June 23, 1961 – May 26, 2019)[1] was a German-born American microbiologist who made important contributions to the study of bacterial cell wall composition and assembly as well as the pathogenesis of the microbial species S. aureus.[2] He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018.[1]
Career
Schneewind was born in Germany and attended the University of Cologne. He completed postdoctoral training with Vincent Fischetti at Rockefeller University.[2] Schneewind subsequently joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles in 1992.[1] His first major discovery as an independent investigator was the finding that the surface proteins of gram-positive bacteria are cleaved between the T and G residue in the LPXTG sortase signal by the enzyme sortase (the enzyme was not discovered yet, but was later shown by him to be responsible for the cleavage) in order to be anchored to the cell wall.[3]
In 2001, Schneewind began teaching at the University of Chicago within the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology. In 2004, he was named the founding chair of the Department of Microbiology. He assumed the Louis Block Professorship and remained at UChicago until his death from cancer on May 26, 2019.[2][4]
References
- ^ a b c "Olaf Schneewind". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Olaf Schneewind, world-renowned authority on infectious diseases, 1961-2019 | University of Chicago News". Republished as: "Department of Microbiology mourns the loss of Louis Block Professor and Chair Olaf Schneewind". University of Chicago Department of Microbiology. May 28, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ Navarre WW, Schneewind O (1994). "Proteolytic cleavage and cell wall anchoring at the LPXTG motif of surface proteins in gram-positive bacteria". Mol Microbiol. 14 (1): 115–21. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.1994.tb01271.x. PMID 7830549. S2CID 9501258.
- ^ Silhavy, Thomas J. (2019). "Olaf Schneewind, 1961–2019: Scientist, Mentor, Friend" (PDF). Journal of Bacteriology. 201 (19). American Society for Microbiology. doi:10.1128/jb.00422-19. ISSN 0021-9193. Retrieved July 18, 2025.