Peter Burgers: Biochemist studies cell processes fundamental to life

By Julia Evangelou Strait

Photo by: Robert Boston

Peter Burgers, PhD (center), shows Joseph Stodola (left) and Justin Sparks, both graduate research assistants in biochemistry and molecular biophysics, some samples in his lab. “Peter is known around the world for his expertise in the genetics and biochemistry of DNA replication and cellular responses to damaged DNA,” says Thomas E. Ellenberger, DVM, PhD, the Raymond H. Wittcoff Professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. “He is well-known for reconstituting impossibly difficult protein complexes and showing the field how things work at the molecular level.”

Growing up in Wassenaar, Netherlands, a small town near the North Sea, Peter Burgers, PhD, remembers a carefree childhood. The middle of seven children, Burgers and his siblings spent much time outside, including summers at the beach.

But a carefree childhood does not mean one without direction.

“My father was a teacher, and he valued education,” Burgers says. “He wanted all of us to go to university, which was unusual in those days.”

That parental influence clearly was felt as the family now includes a biochemist, an engineer, two medical doctors, two nurses and a geologist. Today, Burgers is the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Biological Chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is an expert in DNA replication and repair — fundamental cellular processes shared across organisms, from yeast to humans.

“Peter is known around the world for his expertise in the genetics and biochemistry of DNA replication and cellular responses to damaged DNA,” says Thomas E. Ellenberger, DVM, PhD, the Raymond H. Wittcoff Professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. “He is well-known for reconstituting impossibly difficult protein complexes and showing the field how things work at the molecular level.”

Indeed, Burgers recently was honored for his scientific contributions with an honorary doctorate in medicine from Umeå University in Sweden. During the ceremony, Bengt Jårvholm, MD, PhD, dean of the Umeå School of Medicine, praised Burgers’ work, his support for international collaborations, and his mentoring of faculty at Umeå University. The celebration included Burgers’ general lecture to the Umeå community. Afterward, festivities continued with a university-wide reception and banquet.

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