Jonathon Howard

Howard was educated at Australian National University, where he received a B.Sc. degree (with honors) in Pure Mathematics in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology in 1983.{{cite web | access-date=2023-05-20 | url=https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/vf2vq5y | title=Oral history interview with Jonathon Howard | last=Novak | language=en | website=Science History Institute Digital Collections | first=Steven J.}} His Ph.D. thesis is titled Kinetics and noise of transduction in insect photoreceptors, and his supervisors were Allan Snyder and Simon Laughlin.{{cite thesis |last1=Howard |first1=Jonathon |title=Kinetics and noise of transduction in insect photoreceptors |oclc=222145173 |date=1982 |publisher=Australian National University}}

During his PhD, he worked with Simon Laughlin, who is an experimentalist, and Allan Snyder, who is a theoretician, on the optics and electrophysiological properties of the fly compound eye.

During his postdoc with A. James Hudspeth at University of California, San Francisco, he made several major contributions to the understanding of hair cells and motor proteins. He developed very precise mechanical techniques to study how hair cells of the vertebrate inner ear detect sound and acceleration.{{Cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=J. |last2=Hudspeth |first2=A. J. |date=1988 |title=Compliance of the hair bundle associated with gating of mechanoelectrical transduction channels in the Bullfrog's saccular hair cell |doi=10.1016/0896-6273(88)90139-0 |journal=Neuron |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=189–199|pmid=2483095 }} and confirmed the “gating spring” model, proposed by Corey and Hudspeth. He also discovered that hair cells adapt to sustained stimuli via a mechanical mechanism in which an active process, which he hypothesized to be driven by the motor protein myosin-1, regulates the tension in the gating spring.{{Cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=J. |last2=Hudspeth |first2=A. J. |date=1987 |title=Mechanical relaxation of the hair bundle mediates adaptation in mechanoelectrical transduction by the bullfrog's saccular hair cell |doi=10.1073/pnas.84.9.3064 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=84 |issue=9 |pages=3064–3068|doi-access=free |pmid=3495007 |pmc=304803 }} During this period, he also collaborated with Ronald Vale, and developed the first single-molecule assay for studying motor proteins. His work showed that kinesin moves processively, taking several hundred steps along a microtubule before dissociating.{{Cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=J. |last2=Hudspeth |first2=A. J. |last3=Vale |first3=R. D. |date=1989 |title=Movement of microtubules by single kinesin molecules |doi=10.1038/342154a0 |journal=Nature |volume=342 |issue=6246 |pages=154–158|pmid=2530455 }} This finding explained how kinesin could carry cargos long distances in the axons of nerve cells. This work also helped to establish the field of single-molecule biophysics.

In 1989, Howard set up his own lab at the University of Washington, where his research focused on how motor proteins convert chemical energy derived from the hydrolysis of ATP into mechanical work used to drive cell motility. His research contributes to our understanding of motor protein and microtubule in the following ways:{{Cite journal |last=Sedwick |first=Caitlin |date=2014 |title=Jonathon Howard: Motor proteins go walkabout |doi=10.1083/jcb.2042pi |journal=Journal of Cell Biology |volume=204 |issue=2 |pages=150–151|pmc=3897180 }} his group

• measured the force generated by a single kinesin molecule, ~5 pN.{{Cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=A. J. |last2=Gittes |first2=F. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |date=1994 |title=The force exerted by a single kinesin molecule against a viscous load |doi=10.1016/S0006-3495(94)80537-5 |journal=Biophysical Journal |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=766–781|pmc=1225420 }}
• showed that kinesin moves on a path parallel to the protofilaments and measured the dependence of the speed of movement of kinesin on the load force{{Cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=S. |last2=Milligan |first2=R. A. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |date=1993 |title=Kinesin follows the microtubule's protofilament axis |doi=10.1083/jcb.121.5.1083 |journal=J. Cell Biol. |volume=121 |issue=5 |pages=1083–1093}}
• determined that each kinesin hydrolyzing exactly one molecule of ATP for each 8-nm step that it takes along the surface of the microtubule{{Cite journal |last1=Coy |first1=D. L. |last2=Hancock |first2=W. O. |last3=Wagenbach |first3=M. |last4=Howard |first4=J. |date=1999 |title=Kinesin's tail domain is an inhibitory regulator of the motor domain |doi=10.1038/13001 |journal=Nat. Cell Biol. |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=288–292|pmid=10559941 }}

In 2000, Howard moved to Germany, where he played a key role, as Director, in establishing the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, one of the foremost biological research institutes in Europe.{{cite web |title=Former Directors |url=https://www.mpi-cbg.de/about-us/our-history/former-directors |website=Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics}} At the MPI-CBG, research in the Howard lab focused on:

• the regulation of microtubule dynamics by microtubule-associated proteins{{Cite journal |last1=Helenius |first1=J. |last2=Brouhard |first2=G. |last3=Kalaidzidis |first3=Y |last4=Diez |first4=S |last5=Howard |first5=J. |date=2006 |title=The depolymerizing kinesin MCAK uses lattice diffusion to rapidly target microtubule ends |doi=10.1038/nature04736 |journal=Nature |volume=441 |issue=7089 |pages=115–119|pmid=16672973 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Varga |first1=V. |last2=Helenius |first2=J. |last3=Tanaka |first3=K. |last4=Hyman |first4=A. A. |last5=Tanaka |first5=T. U. |last6=Howard |first6=J. |date=2006 |title=Yeast kinesin-8 depolymerizes microtubules in a length-dependent manner |doi=10.1038/ncb1462 |journal=Nat. Cell Biol. |volume=8 |issue=9 |pages=957–962}}{{Cite journal |last1=Brouhard |first1=G. J. |last2=Stear |first2=J. H. |last3=Noetzel |first3=T. L. |last4=Al-Bassam |first4=J. |last5=Kinoshita |first5=K. |last6=Harrison |first6=S. C. |last7=Howard |first7=J. |last8=Hyman |first8=A. A. |date=2008 |title=XMAP215 is a processive microtubule polymerase |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.043 |journal=Cell |volume=132 |issue=1 |pages=79–88|pmc=2311386 }}
• mechanics of flagella{{Cite journal |last1=Riedel-Kruse |first1=I. H. |last2=Hilfinger |first2=A. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |last4=Jülicher |first4=F. |date=2007 |title=How molecular motors shape the flagellar beat |doi=10.2976/1.2773861 |journal=HFSP Journal |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=192–208|pmid=19404446 |pmc=2640991 }}
• invertebrate mechanoreceptors{{Cite journal |last1=Howard |first1=J. |last2=Bechstedt |first2=S. |date=2004 |title=Hypothesis: A helix of ankyrin repeats of the NOMPC-TRP ion channel is the gating spring of mechanoreceptors |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2004.02.050 |journal=Curr. Biol. |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=R224–R226|doi-access=free }}
• collective cell dynamics in active matter{{Cite journal |last1=Riedel |first1=I. H. |last2=Kruse |first2=K. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |date=2005 |title=A Self-Organized Vortex Array of Hydrodynamically Entrained Sperm Cells |doi=10.1126/science.1110329 |journal=Science |volume=309 |issue=5732 |pages=300–303|pmid=16002619 }}

In 2013, Howard became the Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University.{{cite web |title=Jonathon Howard is appointed the Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry |url=https://news.yale.edu/2013/10/28/jonathon-howard-appointed-eugene-higgins-professor-molecular-biophysics-and-biochemistry |website=Yale News |language=en |date=28 October 2013}}

At Yale, he has continued his interest in the biophysics of the microtubule skeleton, including studies of the microtubule-severing proteins Spastin, spindle localization in the C. elegans embryo,{{Cite journal |last1=Garzon-Coral |first1=C. |last2=Fantana |first2=H. A. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |date=2016 |title=A force-generating machinery maintains the spindle at the cell center during mitosis |doi=10.1126/science.aad9745 |journal=Science |volume=352 |issue=6289 |pages=1124–1127|pmid=27230381 |pmc=6535051 }} ciliary beating in Chlamydomonas,{{Cite journal |last1=Sartori |first1=P. |last2=Geyer |first2=V. F. |last3=Scholich |first3=A. |last4=Jülicher |first4=F. |last5=Howard |first5=J. |date=2016 |title=Dynamic curvature regulation accounts for the symmetric and asymmetric beats of Chlamydomonas flagella |doi=10.7554/eLife.13258 |journal=eLife |volume=5 |pages=e13258|doi-access=free |arxiv=1511.04270 }} physical bioenergetics during Zebrafish embryogenesis{{Cite journal |last1=Rodenfels |first1=J. |last2=Neugebauer |first2=K. M. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |title=Heat Oscillations Driven by the Embryonic Cell Cycle Reveal the Energetic Costs of Signaling |doi=10.1016/j.devcel.2018.12.024 |journal=Developmental Cell |date=2019 |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=646–658|pmc=6414255 }} and branching morphogenesis of neuronal dendrites.{{Cite journal |last1=Liao |first1=M. J. |last2=Liang |first2=X. |last3=Howard |first3=J. |date=2021 |title=The narrowing of dendrite branches across nodes follows a well-defined scaling law |doi=10.1073/pnas.2022395118 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=118 |issue=27 |pages=e2022395118|doi-access=free |pmid=34215693 |pmc=8271565 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Shree |first1=S. |last2=Sutradhar |first2=S. |last3=Trottier |first3=O. |last4=Tu |first4=Y. |last5=Liang |first5=X. |last6=Howard |first6=J. |date=2022 |title=Dynamic instability of dendrite tips generates the highly branched morphologies of sensory neurons |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abn0080 |journal=Sci. Adv. |volume=8 |issue=26 |pages=eabn0080|pmid=35767611 |pmc=9242452 }}

Howard summarized many results and ideas on molecular motors in a monograph Mechanics of Motor Proteins and the Cytoskeleton,{{Cite book |last=Howard |first=J. |title=Mechanics of Motor Proteins and the Cytoskeleton |publisher=Sinauer Associates |year=2001 |isbn=978-0878933334 |edition= |location= |pages= |language=English}}{{Cite journal |last=Mogilner |first=Alex |date=2002 |title=Mechanics of Motor Proteins and the Cytoskeleton |doi=10.1063/1.1472396 |journal=Physics Today |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=63–64}}{{Cite journal |last1=Schmitz |first1=Stephan |last2=Veigel |first2=Claudia |date=2002 |title=Size matters: Mechanics of Motor Proteins and the Cytoskeleton |doi=10.1242/jcs.115.14.2807 |journal=J Cell Sci |volume=115 |issue=14 |pages=2807–2808}} which has sold over 5,000 copies and been cited more than 3,000 times.

• Elected member of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2017){{cite web |title=Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering Elects 24 New Members in 2017 |url=https://ctcase.org/connecticut-academy-science-and-engineering-elects-24-new-members-in-2017/ |website=Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering |date=15 February 2017}}
• Fellow of the Biophysical Society (2017){{Cite web |title=Joe Howard honored as 2017 Fellow of the Biophysical Society|url=https://mbb.yale.edu/news/joe-howard-honored-2017-fellow-biophysical-society |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Yale.edu}}
• External Member of the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (2016)"
• Pioneer Award, National Institutes of Health (2015){{Cite web |date=2018-09-18 |title=NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program – 2015 Award Recipients |url=https://commonfund.nih.gov/pioneer/awardrecipients15 |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=commonfund.nih.gov |language=en}}
• Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (2004){{Cite web |title=Find people in the EMBO Communities |url=https://people.embo.org/profile/jonathon-howard |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=people.embo.org}}
• John Simon Guggenheim Fellow (1996){{Cite web |title=Jonathon Howard |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/jonathon-howard/ |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |language=en-US}}
• Sloan Research Fellowship (1990){{cite web |title=Sloan Research Fellowship |url=https://www.washington.edu/research/or/honors-and-awards/sloan-research-fellowship/ |website=University of Washington |language=en-us}}
• Pew Scholar, Program in the Biomedical Sciences (1990){{Cite web |last=Pew Biomedical Scholars |title=Jonathon Howard, Ph.D. |url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/directory-of-pew-scholars/1990/jonathon-howard |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Pew Biomedical Scholars |language=en}}

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Category:Biophysicists

Category:Cell biologists

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century physicists

Category:20th-century Australian biologists

Category:Australian National University alumni