Barbara J.

Meyer
Barbara J. Meyer (born 1949) is a biologist and
geneticist, noted for her pioneering research on lambda Barbara J. Meyer
phage, a virus that infects bacteria; discovery of the
master control gene involved in sex determination; and
studies of gene regulation, particularly dosage
compensation.[1] Meyer's work has revealed
mechanisms of sex determination and dosage
compensation—that balance X-chromosome gene
expression between the sexes in Caenorhabditis
elegans that continue to serve as the foundation of
diverse areas of study on chromosome structure and
function today.[2]
Born 1949
Dr. Meyer is an HHMI investigator, a genetics,
genomics and development professor at UC Berkeley, Alma mater Stanford University
and an adjunct professor in the biochemistry and Harvard University
biophysics department at University of California, San University of California,
Francisco (UCSF)'s School of Medicine. Her current Berkeley
research focuses on the molecular networks controlling
Spouse Tom Cline
dynamic chromosome behaviors during cell
development which endure genome stability.[3] Scientific career
Institutions MIT
UC Berkeley
Biography MRC Laboratory of
Molecular Biology
Meyer is a native Californian, born and raised in
Stockton. Meyer completed her undergraduate BS at Academic Mark Ptashne, Sydney
Stanford University, working with David Clayton. She advisors Brenner
began her PhD at the University of California, Notable Anne Villeneuve
Berkeley and completed her graduate studies in 1979 students
at Harvard University in the lab of Mark Ptashne,
working on gene regulation in lambda phage, a bacterial virus which infects bacteria E. coli. In 1979
Meyer began postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology,[4] studying how
chromosomes determine sex at the laboratory of Sydney Brenner, who later won a Nobel Prize for
establishing the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans as an important model organism for research on
development. Switching from virus to Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a roundworm, Meyer still
studies gene regulation, but turning to sex determination. Meyer discovered the master gene involved in
sex determination.
Meyer's early work focused on how C. elegans "counts" the number of X chromosomes and sets of
autosomes to determine its sex, as well as how it adjusts to the imbalance in the number of X
chromosomes between the two sexes. In C. elegans, individuals with two X chromosomes are self-
fertilizing hermaphrodites; those with only one X chromosome are males. A popular hypothesis when
Meyer began her postdoctoral work was that the worms compensate for the difference in the number of
copies of genes on the X chromosome between the two sexes. But it wasn't clear whether the worms
accomplished this by upregulating genes on the X chromosome in males or by downregulating genes on
the X chromosome in hermaphrodites. Meyer established her first lab at MIT after leaving the MRC,
starting with the question of how the nematode specifies its sex. Further analysis of the mechanism
underlying dosage compensation produced many key insights into gene regulation.

In 1990, Meyer and her husband Tom Cline gave up their tenured positions (she at MIT, he at Princeton) -
she accepted a full faculty appointment at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1997, Meyer
becomes an HHMI investigator. Her lab identified a gene they named xol-1 as the master switch for sex
determination. Meyer's group also found that transcription factors encoded by both the X chromosome
and the autosomes battle to control whether xol-1 is transcriptionally active or inactive.[1] (http://genesto
genomes.org/genetics-society-of-america-honors-barbara-meyer-with-2018-thomas-hunt-morgan-medal/)

She became a member of ASCB (American association of cell biology) in 1995. She was also elected as a
member to AAAS (American academy of Arts and Sciences) in 1995. In 2014, Meyer was elected to the
American Philosophical Society.[5]

In 2018, Meyer was honored with the E.B. Wilson Medal by American Society for Cell Biology's
(ASCB) highest honor for science, for her significant and far-reaching contributions to cell biology over a
lifetime in science. Meyer was also honored with 2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal which is awarded
for lifetime achievement in genetics. This honor is given in recognition of her groundbreaking work on
chromosome behaviors that govern gene expression, development, and heredity. At the same year, Meyer
was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in health and
medicine, "for groundbreaking work on chromosome dynamics that impact gene expression, development
and heredity using the nematode as a model organism.[6]

Notable papers
McDonel, Patrick; Jans, Judith; Peterson, Brant K.; Meyer, Barbara J. (2006). "Clustered
DNA motifs mark X chromosomes for repression by a dosage compensation complex" (http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693371). Nature. 444 (7119). Springer Science
and Business Media LLC: 614–618. Bibcode:2006Natur.444..614M (https://ui.adsabs.harvar
d.edu/abs/2006Natur.444..614M). doi:10.1038/nature05338 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnat
ure05338). ISSN 0028-0836 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). PMC 2693371 (ht
tps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693371). PMID 17122774 (https://pubmed.nc
bi.nlm.nih.gov/17122774).
Chu, Diana S.; Liu, Hongbin; Nix, Paola; Wu, Tammy F.; Ralston, Edward J.; Yates III, John
R.; Meyer, Barbara J. (August 30, 2006). "Sperm chromatin proteomics identifies
evolutionarily conserved fertility factors" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC273
1558). Nature. 443 (7107). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 101–105.
Bibcode:2006Natur.443..101C (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006Natur.443..101C).
doi:10.1038/nature05050 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature05050). ISSN 0028-0836 (http
 s://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). PMC 2731558 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/a
rticles/PMC2731558). PMID 16943775 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16943775).
Cline and, Thomas W.; Meyer, Barbara J. (1996). "VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE:Males vs
Females in Flies vs Worms". Annual Review of Genetics. 30 (1). Annual Reviews: 637–702.
doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.30.1.637 (https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.genet.30.1.637).
ISSN 0066-4197 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0066-4197). PMID 8982468 (https://pubm
ed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8982468).
Meyer, B. J.; Kleid, D. G.; Ptashne, M. (December 1, 1975). "Lambda repressor turns off
transcription of its own gene" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC388816).
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 72 (12): 4785–4789.
Bibcode:1975PNAS...72.4785M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975PNAS...72.4785M).
doi:10.1073/pnas.72.12.4785 (https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.72.12.4785). ISSN 0027-
8424 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0027-8424). PMC 388816 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/pmc/articles/PMC388816). PMID 1061069 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1061069).
Meyer, Barbara J. (2018). "Sex and death: from cell fate specification to dynamic control of
X-chromosome structure and gene expression" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
MC6249838). Molecular Biology of the Cell. 29 (22). American Society for Cell Biology
(ASCB): 2616–2621. doi:10.1091/mbc.e18-06-0397 (https://doi.org/10.1091%2Fmbc.e18-06
-0397). ISSN 1059-1524 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1059-1524). PMC 6249838 (http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6249838). PMID 30376434 (https://pubmed.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/30376434).

Awards
1995 Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences[7]
2000 – Member, National Academy of Sciences[8]
2010 – Genetics Society of America Medal
Elected Member, American Academy of Microbiology
2013 selected Miller Senior Fellow of the Miller Institute at the University of California
Berkeley
2017 Francis Amory Prize in Medicine and Physiology from the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences [9]
2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal awarded for lifetime achievement in genetics "in
recognition of her groundbreaking work on chromosome behaviors that govern gene
expression, development, and heredity."[10]
2018 E.B. Wilson Medal from the American Society for Cell Biology, (ASCB) highest honor
for science [11]
2018 Elected to the National Academy of Medicine[12]

References
Barbara Meyer faculty profile (http://mcb.berkeley.edu/faculty/GEN/meyerb.html), UC
Berkeley
"Barbara J. Meyer, Ph.D." (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/gender/meyer.html), HHMI:
Biointeractive, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Wormbase profile (http://www.wormbase.org/db/misc/person?name=WBPerson421;class=P
erson)
"Who's Who in Sex-Determination Research" (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/gender/wh
oswho.html), Howard Hughes Medical Institute
 "Sex and Repression" (http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/meyer.html), Barbara
Meyer profile at HHMI

Footnotes
1. Haloupek, Nicole (January 1, 2019). "Barbara J. Meyer: 2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325698). Genetics. 211 (1): 1–3.
doi:10.1534/genetics.118.301883 (https://doi.org/10.1534%2Fgenetics.118.301883).
PMC 6325698 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325698). PMID 30626637
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30626637).
2. Haloupek, Nicole (January 1, 2019). "Barbara J. Meyer: 2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal"
(https://www.genetics.org/content/211/1/1). Genetics. 211 (1): 1–3.
doi:10.1534/genetics.118.301883 (https://doi.org/10.1534%2Fgenetics.118.301883).
ISSN 0016-6731 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0016-6731). PMC 6325698 (https://www.n
cbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325698). PMID 30626637 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/30626637).
3. "Barbara J. Meyer" (https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/barbara-j-meyer). HHMI.org. Retrieved
September 7, 2019.
4. Kathleen, Weston (2020). Ahead of the Curve: Women Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of
Molecular Biology. Cambridge, UK: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. p. 135.
ISBN 978-1-903435-05-2.
5. "APS Member History" (https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=barbara+j.+m
eyer&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advan
ced). search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
6. "National Academy of Medicine elects three faculty members to its ranks" (https://news.berk
eley.edu/story_jump/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-three-faculty-members-to-its-rank
s/). October 17, 2018.
7. "Barbara Jean Meyer" (https://www.amacad.org/person/barbara-jean-meyer). American
Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
8. "New Members and Foreign Associates Elected to the National Academy of Sciences on
May 2, 2000" (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/10/5037), PNAS, v.97, n.10, pp. 5037–
5038 (May 9, 2000).
9. "Barbara Jean Meyer to be Honored by the American Academy" (https://www.amacad.org/c
ontent/news/pressReleases.aspx?i=20286).
10. "Genetics Society of America honors Barbara Meyer with 2018 Thomas Hunt Morgan
Medal" (http://genestogenomes.org/genetics-society-of-america-honors-barbara-meyer-with-
2018-thomas-hunt-morgan-medal/). February 2, 2018.
11. "Barbara Meyer Honored with the E.B. Wilson Medal" (https://mcb.berkeley.edu/news-and-e
vents/department-news/barbara-meyer-honored-eb-wilson-medal). June 22, 2018.
12. "National Academy of Medicine Elects 85 New Members" (https://nam.edu/national-academ
y-of-medicine-elects-85-new-members/). National Academy of Medicine. October 15, 2018.
Retrieved May 2, 2019.

External links
Meyer Lab website (http://mcb.berkeley.edu/labs/meyer/)

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