Director
& Co-Founder
| Dr. Tomas A. Prolla received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990. He continued his studies at the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University, receiving a doctoral degree in 1994. While at Yale, Dr. Prolla discovered the molecular basis of DNA mismatch repair in eukaryotic organisms, a discovery that led to the identification of several human DNA mismatch repair genes involved in cancer. |
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Following his doctoral work, he completed a research fellowship at the Human and Molecular Genetics Department at Baylor College of Medicine. Under the supervision of Dr. Allan Bradley, a pioneer in the field of genetic engineering in experimental animals, he generated several models of human diseases in experimental animals. These animals are now widely used for the development of novel cancer therapies.
Dr. Prolla joined the faculty of the Department of Genetics & Medical Genetics at the
University of Wisconsin in 1997. As a new faculty member, Dr. Prolla has received several awards of scientific excellence, including the Shaw Scholar Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Young Investigator Award, the Basil O'Connor New Faculty Award, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute New Investigator Award.
Dr. Prolla's work currently focuses on a collaborative effort with Dr. Weindruch's laboratory to elucidate the genetic basis of aging through the use of DNA microarrays. As a result of this collaboration, LifeGen's founders have generated the first detailed analysis of the aging process at the genomic level, the discovery that provided the basis for
LifeGen.
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