Maxine Frank Singer (1931–2024)

Maxine Frank Singer was a researcher who studied molecular biology and genetics in the United States during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her work synthesizing RNA molecules advanced researchers’ ability to understand triplets of nucleotides in RNA and DNA, which allowed them to read the genetic code. Singer was also one of the first scientists to find that certain long repeated DNA sequences, called long interspersed nucleotide elements, or LINEs, can jump around, and the mechanism behind it. Outside of her research, Singer also was active in science policy, helping to regulate the use of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technologies, and organizing conferences around the topic, such as the Asilomar Conference. Prior to Singer’s work, researchers knew that DNA was a double stranded molecule made up of alternating nucleotides, but Singer contributed to researchers’ understanding of what those nucleotides meant in the genetic code. While Singer advanced the scientific community’s understanding of how to read the genetic code and how LINEs impact genetic diseases, her promotion of ethical discussions of scientific responsibilities in manipulating the code helped create policy that continues to affect researchers exploring genetic engineering as of 2024.

1. Early Life and Education
2. Professional Career
3. Role in Asilomar Conference
4. Impact

Early Life and Education

Singer was born on 15 February 1931 in New York City, New York, to Henrietta and Hyman Frank. She received her education through public schools in the Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City and attended Midwood High School. According to the National Library of Medicine, Singer found her interest in science from her chemistry teacher while attending Midwood. In the late 1940s, Singer began studying chemistry and biology at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Arts with high honors in chemistry in 1952. In 1952, she continued her studies by pursuing a doctoral degree at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, specializing in protein chemistry and nucleic acids under her advisor Joseph Stewart Fruton. When Singer joined Yale, Fruton was a professor of biochemistry and the chair of the department of biochemistry. His research focused largely on the mechanisms of peptide bonds, as well as research on the history of biochemistry. Singer took an introductory class where Fruton and his wife, Sofia Simmonds, were the professors. According to a biography about Fruton written by Singer, that course deepened her resolve to pursue graduate studies and research in the field of biochemistry. During the mid-1950s a limited number of scientists studied nucleic acids.

In 1953, James Watson, a biological researcher, and Francis Crick, a researcher in physics and biology, worked together to discover the structural composition and organization of DNA using knowledge from early biochemistry researchers. Specifically, Watson and Crick found that DNA is a three-dimensional double stranded molecule with antiparallel strands. That formation is similar to a twisting ladder with one side of the ladder with arrows pointing up and the other side with arrows pointing down. In the late 1950s, researchers were still unable to understand how DNA actually worked. It was during that period of further DNA discovery that Singer began studying nucleic acids, as per her advisor Fruton’s suggestion. In 1956, Singer joined Leon Heppel, one of the few scientists who specialized in studying nucleic acids at the time, in his lab at the US National Institutes of Health, or NIH, in Bethesda, Maryland. Even though she had not yet completed her doctorate, Singer worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Heppel’s Laboratory of Biochemistry in the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, which is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, or NIAMS, as of 2024. There, she began her work investigating the composition of nucleic acids and synthesising certain RNA sequences. In 1957, Singer earned her PhD in biochemistry from Yale University. After obtaining her doctoral degree, Singer continued working for the NIH at NIAMS as a Research Biochemist during the late 1950s.

Professional Career

In the 1960s, Singer helped elucidate the genetic code’s organization into triplets, which are series of three nucleotides. She supplied Marshall Nirenberg, who was a researcher in the field of biology studying the relation between, DNA, RNA and proteins, with synthetic RNA molecules of known order and class. Nirenberg, along with other researchers, used those synthetic RNA molecules to decipher the DNA code, in the early 1960s. By 1966, all twenty amino acids, or products of the triplets in the DNA code, were identified by Crick, Nirenberg and other researchers at the NIH. After Singer and other researchers worked together to decipher the genetic code throughout the 1960s, researchers began to manipulate and isolate portions of DNA. Researchers also explored the genetic code by combining fragments of DNA from two distinct species or sources, thereby creating a novel sequence. Those sequences have the capacity for functions not observed before. Those techniques are recognized as the basic components of recombinant DNA, or rDNA, and genetic recombination.

Role in Asilomar Conference

In the early 1970s, Singer, other scientists, and the public grew increasingly concerned about the novel technology of genetic recombination and potential health and environmental hazards. Singer and other leaders in molecular biology came together to ask whether there should be limits to the usage of genetic recombination, while seeking approval and financing from policymakers and the public. In June 1973, a Gordon Conference on Nucleic Acids occurred in New Hampton, New Hampshire, to discuss the possible health risks and concerns of genetic recombination technologies. Singer served as co-chairperson and wrote a letter to Philip Handler, then president of the National Academy of Sciences, hereafter NAS, expressing concerns about genetic recombination and the need for a committee to determine the hazards associated with rDNA.

After Singer’s and her co-chairperson’s recommendation to the NAS, various researchers began halting their research into genetic recombination. Paul Berg, a researcher who created one of the first recombinant DNA molecules, or a molecule with genetic material from another source, was one of the first to suspend his own experimentation with recombinant DNA in 1975 as per the recommendations of his collogues. The NAS selected Berg, as suggested by Singer, to head a committee, which led to a Conference on Recombinant DNA Molecules. Singer assisted in organizing that conference in Pacific Grove, California, at the Asilomar Conference Center in February 1975.

The Asilomar Conference was one of the first conferences where scientists voluntarily paused their work in order to discuss recombinant DNA, hereafter rDNA, and ask questions about whether the work was safe or should be regulated in some ways. A few lawyers, one of whom was Singer’s husband, sixteen press representatives, and one hundred and fifty scientists from thirteen countries, attended the conference. That conference produced a statement, signed by Singer, Berg and three others, which encouraged scientists under the NIH to reduce the safety hazards of rDNA research by creating guidelines for their work. Additionally, their statement indicated that guidelines are to be revised as researchers and scientists gain information in the field of rDNA research. Those guidelines helped direct thousands of rDNA experiments which became the one of the most prevalent forms of research for the years after the 1975 conference.

From the 1980s onwards, Singer held various leadership positions at organizations such as the NIH and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, hereafter Carnegie Institution, in Washington D.C. From 1980 until 1987, Singer was head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the NIH National Cancer Institute. Singer and colleagues studied the movement of LINEs, sections of DNA that have the ability to insert or replicate themselves independently of the genome and cause genetic mutations, at the NIH. According to the Jewish Women’s Archive biography on Singer, the team focused on LINE-1 to try and understand LINE-1’s movement and impact on genetic diseases. Around 1988, Singer moved from NIH to the Carnegie Institution and maintained her laboratory and her title as Scientist Emerita at the NIH. In 1988, Singer was named the first and, as of 2024, only woman president of the Carnegie Institution. Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist in the US founded the Carnegie Institution in 1902 to further scientific research. The Carnegie Institution focuses on a wide array of subjects including astronomy, ecology, genetics, and earth science. As president, Singer served for fourteen years from 1988 to 2002. In 1989, Singer started project First Light, which brought young students and teachers from Washington D.C. to weekend science immersion programs. In 1994, Singer expanded the goals of project First Light as she founded the Carnegie Academy for Science Education, or CASE, to improve public school systems and promote STEM education in struggling areas through both student and teacher programs. One of CASE’s programs is a six-week summer program that continues during the school year, and helps train elementary teachers in Washington, D.C., to teach science.

As Carnegie director, Singer oversaw a variety of different projects. One of those was the development of a new Department of Global Ecology, which conducts research on the earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere, and oceans to understand how the synergy of systems influence the many of earth’s systems. For the Astronomy Department, Singer also oversaw the construction of two Magellan Telescopes, at the Las Campanas Observatory in La Serena, Chile. Singer retired from the Carnegie Institution in 2002 and became Carnegie president emerita in 2003.

Impact

Singer published hundreds of articles, in journals such as Science, Cell, and Nature, as well as written numerous books. In 1991, Singer partnered with Berg once again to write Genes & Genomes, a college textbook about molecular biology. Singer and Berg wrote several books together, including a guide to genetics for general audiences and a biography of Nobel laureate George Beadle, who discovered that the genetic code dictates the formation of enzymes and that chemical damage to the genetic code alters how cells produce those enzymes. Singer also published independently of Berg in 2018 with her book about gene regulation in the reproductive cycles of plants titled Blossoms and the Genes that Make Them. 

Singer received many awards over the course of her career for her scientific achievements. In 1979, Singer was elected to the NAS, which is one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive according to the NAS. Members can only be elected to the NAS by other members and scientists are recognized for their contributions to original research. Singer was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1978 and the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1986. Singer also received honorary degrees from many universities such as Harvard and Brandeis. After more than two decades working at the NIH, she was selected for the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award by former President Ronald Reagan in 1988. That award is the highest award available for government service offered to only one percent of all Senior Executive Service employees. For her scientific contributions, in 1992, the US government awarded Singer the National Medal of Science, which is the highest scientific honor offered by the country, for her accomplishments and contributions. The National Academy of Sciences awarded Singer with the Public Welfare Medal in 2007 for her advocacy for socially responsible research and science education.

Singer was one of the earliest researchers in the nucleic acids field. Outside of the lab, Singer led efforts in the development of science recommendations for researching recombinant DNA, or rDNA, and was an advocate for women’s involvement in science. Singer also assisted in the organization of some of the most prominent genetic conferences of the twentieth century, especially the Asilomar Conference where she raised ethical question regarding whether there should be restrictions on genetic recombination research. Singer utilized her scientific knowledge to further the advancement of scientific policy and promote self-regulation of the research community through various conferences. In the twenty-first century, Singers’ contributions to the genetic code and rDNA research regulation, as well as her advocacy for accessible and socially responsible science, persist.

Singer died 9 July 2024 at age 93.

Sources

1. American Chemical Society “Deciphering the Genetic Code - National Historic Chemical Landmark.” American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/geneticcode.html#:~:text=Interpreting%20the%20language%20of%20the,of%20the%20entire%20human%20genome (Accessed June 5, 2024).
2. Berg, Paul and Maxine F. Singer. “The Recombinant DNA Controversy: Twenty Years Later.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 92 (1995): 9011–3. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.92.20.9011 (Accessed June 4, 2024).
3. Carnegie Academy for Science Education. “About Us.” CASE. https://case.carnegiescience.edu/about-us/ (Accessed June 5, 2024). 
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7. Giardinelli, Alisa, and Emily Weisgrau. “Lang Family Honors Swarthmore Women in STEM by Naming New Building for Maxine Frank Singer '52, H'78.” News & Events, Swarthmore College. https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/lang-family-honors-swarthmore-women-stem-naming-new-building-maxine-frank-singer-52-h78 (Accessed June 4, 2024). 
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14. Profiles in Science. “Risk, Regulation, and Scientific Citizenship: The Controversy over Recombinant DNA Research.” Maxine Singer - Profiles in Science.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health. https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/dj/feature/regulation (Accessed June 3, 2024). 
15. Science History Institute Museum & Library. “Maxine Singer.” Science History Institute. https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/maxine-singer (Accessed June 4, 2024). 
16. Singer, Maxine. Joseph S. Fruton 1912-2007. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 2009. 
17. The Nobel Prize. “The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980 – Award Ceremony Speech.” The Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1980/ceremony-speech/ (Accessed June 4, 2024). 
18. The Nobel Prize. “The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1958: George Beadle Biographical” The Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1958/beadle/biographical/ (Accessed June 5, 2024).
19. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences. “Maxine F. Singer.” The Pontifical Academy of Sciences. https://www.pas.va/en/academicians/ordinary/singer_m.html (Accessed June 5, 2024).
20. U.S. Office of Personnel Management. “Presidential Rank Awards” U.S. Office of Personnel Management. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/presidential-rank-awards/2022/#:~:text=Distinguished%20Rank%20Recipients,ST%20may%20receive%20this%20rank (Accessed June 5, 2024).
21. Villanova University “Dr. Maxine Singer - 1996.” Villanova University. https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/president/university_events/mendelmedal/pastrecipients/maxine_singer.html (Accessed June 5, 2024).
22. Watson, James D. and Francis H. C. Crick. "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid." Nature 171, no. 4356 (1953): 737–8.
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