Oral history interview with Phillip A. Sharp
- 2003-Jan-28
- 2003-May-29
- 2003-Nov-20
Phillip A. Sharp's interview begins with a discussion of his family. He details his genealogy, from his great grandparents to his current extended family. Sharp then discusses his childhood in Falmouth, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduating from Falmouth High School, Sharp attended Union College, where he met his wife, Ann Holcombe. He received his BA in chemistry and math from Union College in 1966. Then, Sharp went on to earn his PhD in chemistry from the University of Illinois. Sharp went to Caltech initially for his post-doctoral studies, but after three years he joined James Watson's virology lab at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to learn more about cell biology research. In 1974, Sharp accepted an invitation to join the research team at the newly created Center for Cancer Research at MIT. In 1977, Sharp and Richard J. Roberts discovered split genes, which led to the discovery of RNA splicing. This was a significant discovery for which Sharp and Roberts shared the Nobel Prize in 1993. Phillip Sharp worked his way up through the ranks of MIT's administration, eventually becoming head of the biology department and director of the Center for Cancer Research. Moreover, Sharp was instrumental in the establishment of one of the first biotech companies, Genentech, Inc. He also worked with a team of researchers to establish Biogen, Inc. In 2000, Sharp became the director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Sharp concludes the interview with reflections on his rapid rise through MIT's administration and the significance of the neuroscience research community that currently surrounds and includes Harvard University.
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About the Interviewers
David C. Brock is a senior research fellow with the Center for Contemporary History and Policy at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. As a historian of science and technology, he specializes in the history of semiconductor science, technology, and industry; the history of instrumentation; and oral history. Brock has studied the philosophy, sociology, and history of science at Brown University, the University of Edinburgh, and Princeton University.In the policy arena Brock recently published Patterning the World: The Rise of Chemically Amplified Photoresists, a white-paper case study for the Center’s Studies in Materials Innovation. With Hyungsub Choi he is preparing an analysis of semiconductor technology roadmapping, having presented preliminary results at the 2009 meeting of the Industry Studies Association.
Arnold Thackray founded the Chemical Heritage Foundation and served the organization as president for 25 years. He is currently CHF’s chancellor. Thackray received MA and PhD degrees in history of science from Cambridge University. He has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford University, and Harvard University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1983 Thackray received the Dexter Award from the American Chemical Society for outstanding contributions to the history of chemistry. He served for more than a quarter century on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the founding chairman of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and is currently the Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus.
Mona Ashiya was a research associate at Harvard Business School and an independent consultant. She received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. She subsequently held research positions at UC Berkeley, Pittsburgh, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard University, during which time she was awarded the Leukemia Research Foundation Fellowship.
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Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
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| 1966 | Union College (Barbourville, Ky.) | BA | Chemistry and Mathematics |
| 1969 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | PhD | Chemistry |
Professional Experience
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 1966 to 1969 Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry
California Institute of Technology
- 1969 to 1971 Postdoctoral Fellow
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- 1971 to 1972 Postdoctoral Fellow
- 1972 to 1974 Senior Research Investigator
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 1974 to 1979 Associate Professor, Center for Cancer Research and Department of Biology
- 1979 to 1999 Professor, Center for Cancer Research and Department of Biology
- 1982 to 1985 Associate Director, Center for Cancer Research
- 1985 to 1991 Director, Center for Cancer Research
- 1991 to 1999 Head, Department of Biology
- 1991 to 1999 Salvador E. Luria Professor of Biology
- 1999 to 2005 Institute Professor
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
- 2000 to 2005 Director
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
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| 1974 to 1979 | Recipient of an American Cancer Society Career Development Award |
| 1980 | The National Academy of Sciences' US Steel Foundation Award in Molecular Biology |
| 1980 | The Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry |
| 1983 | Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| 1983 | Member, National Academy of the Sciences |
| 1985 | The Harvey Society Lecture |
| 1985 | The Howard Ricketts Award, University of Chicago |
| 1986 to 1987 | Class of 1941 Professorship (Chair), Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1986 | The General Motors Research Foundation Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Prize for Cancer Research |
| 1986 | The Gairdner Foundation International Award, Canada |
| 1986 | The New York Academy of Sciences Award in Biological and Medical Sciences |
| 1987 to 1990 | Councilor, National Academy of Sciences |
| 1987 | Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 1987 to 1992 | The John D. MacArthur Professorship (Chair), Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1988 | Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University |
| 1988 | The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award |
| 1990 | The Dickson Prize, University of Pittsburgh |
| 1991 | Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences |
| 1991 | Member, American Philosophical Society |
| 1991 | Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, Union College |
| 1992 | The Salvador E. Luria Professorship (Chair), Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1993 | The Mendel Medal Award, Villanova University |
| 1993 | The James R. Killian, Jr. , Faculty Achievement Award, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1993 | Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology |
| 1993 | The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| 1994 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, University of Kentucky |
| 1995 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Bowdoin College |
| 1996 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, University of Tel Aviv |
| 1996 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Albright College |
| 1998 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, University of Glasgow, Scotland |
| 1999 | Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Thomas More College |
| 1999 | The Benjamin Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society |
| 1999 | Honorary Doctor of Medicine, Uppsala University, Sweden |
| 1999 | Doctor (honoris causa), University of Buenos Aires |
| 2001 | The Walker Prize from the Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2001 | The Norman Davidson Lecture, California Institute of Technology |
| 2001 | Honorary Doctorate, Northern Kentucky University |
| 2002 | Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland |
| 2002 | The Storer Life Sciences Lectures, University of California, Davis |
| 2002 | Biotechnology Heritage Award, Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Chemical Heritage Foundation |
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