A BRIEF HISTORY OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE
The 1940s were a consequential decade for many widely remembered reasons. World War II. The Holocaust. The advent of nuclear weapons. Though these tragic global events claimed many lives, a medical study published in the waning days of that decade pointed to a new era of disease research and hope for lifesaving treatments that only now are we beginning to fully harness.
Let’s review some of the key milestones of molecular medicine, including its foundations and some more recent developments. Then we’ll discuss how you could one day end up on a timeline of this dynamic and promising field.
A MOLECULAR MEDICINE TIMELINE
The story of molecular medicine, like most medical, scientific and technological fields, is one that involves inquisitive, determined individuals and organizations continually building off the work of others. Molecular medicine was preceded by molecular biology, a field that was itself made possible through the identification of what would eventually be called DNA. This is where we begin …
1869: Swiss physiological chemist Friedrich Miescher encounters a previously unknown substance in white blood cells that he calls nuclein. This would later be known as nucleic acid, then deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA.
1919: Following experiments with yeast, Russian biochemist Phoebus Levene asserts that nucleic acid consists of chains of molecules that he names polynucleotides.
1930s: The field of molecular biology arises from research in connected fields, including biochemistry, biophysics and genetics.
1949: In late November 1949, a group of biochemists publishes “Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease,” a report that confirms sickle cell anemia as a genetic condition. This is considered by many to be where molecular medicine as a specialized field had its beginnings.
1953: American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick, assisted by other researchers, propose the double-helix structure of DNA, greatly broadening our comprehension of how genetic information is stored and transmitted.
1957: Crick proposes the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, outlining the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins and providing an essential framework for our understanding of the molecular origins of disease.
1958: American biochemist Arthur Kornberg discovered DNA polymerase, the enzyme that creates new DNA molecules and is therefore essential to DNA replication.
1983: American biochemist Kary Mullis originates the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a groundbreaking technique for amplifying and analyzing DNA. PCR significantly accelerated the study of genes and their role in diseases.
1993: Spanish microbiologist Francis Mojica reports on CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), or repetitive DNA sequences that protect single-cell organisms from infection from certain types of viruses.
1990-2003: Conducted by a global partnership of researchers, the Human Genome Project (HGP) generates a genome sequence equivalent to more than 90% of the human genome. The landmark project has aided the medical field considerably.
2002-2010: An organization known as the International HapMap Project sets out to create a map of the human genome that “allows researchers to find genes and genetic variations that affect health and disease.”
2005: Russian microbiologist Alexander Bolotin finds a unique cas gene (today referred to as Cas9) in the probiotic Streptococcus thermophilus.
2009: A genome editing tool known as CRISPR — not to be confused with the repetitive DNA sequences named by Mojica — debuts, allowing quick, precise genomic editing. Applications include investigating human diseases and developing gene therapies. French researcher Emmanuelle Marie Charpentier and American biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the CRISPR/Cas9 tool in 2020.
2020: Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies develop mRNA vaccines to minimize the effects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19.
Today: Each step in the evolution of molecular science has given greater hope for longer, happier, healthier lives to countless people. Now, you can forge your own connection to this field through an online program offered by the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
FOLLOW THE PATH OF THE PIONEERS OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE
Inspired by pioneers like those mentioned above, we’re contributing consequential molecular medicine research of our own here at UMMC. You can be part of this evolving field through our online Molecular Medicine Graduate Certificate Program. Taught by our graduate school faculty, our Program will help prepare you for a variety of rewarding careers in healthcare — even molecular medicine, if that’s your passion — and beyond.
What’s more, you can complete our 11-14 credit Certificate Program in as few as two semesters. Don’t live near Jackson, Mississippi? Not a problem! You can enroll and complete your studies entirely online from just about anywhere. No campus visits are required, and our asynchronous courses enable you to work on a schedule that suits anyone with professional and personal commitments. You won’t find that type of flexibility everywhere.
Get more information or apply to UMMC’s online Molecular Medicine Graduate Certificate Program now!
Sources:
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/discovery-of-dna-structure-and-function-watson-397/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9377665/
https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/articles/francis-mojica-the-modest-microbiologist-who-discovered-and-named-crispr-325093
https://www.jax.org/personalized-medicine/precision-medicine-and-you/what-is-crispr
https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8388126/
https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/questions-and-answers-about-crispr
