Richard Burgess, PhD

Richard “Dick” Burgess received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Caltech in 1964, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with Dr. James D. Watson at Harvard University in 1969.  After two years as a postdoctoral fellow in Geneva, Switzerland, he joined the faculty of the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is considered one of the leading authorities on RNA polymerases and transcription factors. He was the first to determine the subunit structure of a bacterial RNA polymerase and discovered the first positive transcription factor, the E. coli sigma factor in 1968. His laboratory elucidated the detailed nature of the sigma-core RNA polymerase interaction that is a prime site for targeted anti-microbial drug discovery.

An expert at protein purification and characterization, Burgess served as the Editor–in-Chief of the journal Protein Expression and Purification for 22 years, taught local, national, and international courses in protein biochemistry, a campus course on medical, agricultural, and environmental biotechnology, and mentored over 40 graduate students. In 1984, he founded the UW Biotechnology Center, which he directed until 1996 in its growth to an active organization housed in a new $28 million building and serving the campus and state with essential resource facilities.  In retirement he continues to play an active role teaching, writing, editing, consulting with biotechnology companies, encouraging entrepreneurism where appropriate, and educating the public about biotechnology and the importance of basic cancer research. For a short video on this latter subject, see his 2015 talk: https://pbswisconsin.org/watch/university-place/university-place-finding-new-targets-cancer-drugs/

CV

Pub Med: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=burgess+r+r+madison