Carlos Bustamante | |
---|---|
Born | Carlos José Bustamante May 6, 1951 |
Nationality | Peru, U.S. |
Alma mater | Cayetano Heredia University, National University of San Marcos, University of California, Berkeley |
Known for | Biophysics of DNA and protein |
Awards |
|
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biophysics |
Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
Doctoral advisor | Ignacio Tinoco, Jr. |
Website |
bustamante |
Carlos José Bustamante (born 1951 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian-American scientist. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. [1]
Carlos Bustamante is a
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator,
[2]
professor of
molecular and cell biology,
physics, and
chemistry at the
University of California, Berkeley,
[3] and Biophysicist Faculty Scientist at the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
[4]
Bustamante studied medicine at
National University of San Marcos before discovering his true interest in biochemistry. He received his BSc from
Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, his MSc in
biochemistry from
National University of San Marcos in Lima, and his PhD in
biophysics from
UC Berkeley, where he studied with
Ignacio Tinoco, Jr. As a postdoctoral fellow at the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Bustamante studied with
Marcos Maestre. Before moving to Berkeley, he was an
HHMI investigator at the
University of Oregon.
Carlos Bustamante uses novel methods of single-molecule visualization, such as scanning force microscopy, to study the structure and function of nucleoprotein assemblies. His laboratory is developing methods of single-molecule manipulation, such as optical tweezers, to characterize the elasticity of DNA, to induce the mechanical unfolding of individual protein molecules, and to investigate the machine-like behavior of molecular motors.