Lubert Stryer: Light and Life

Stanford Emeriti/ae Council Autobiographical Reflections

On Feb. 16, 2022, Lubert Stryer, the Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, Emeritus, delivered a lecture entitled “Light and Life.” Born in China in 1938, he shared memories of his childhood in Shanghai during WWII. US visas for his family came through a few months before Shanghai was taken over by Mao. After high school in New York, he graduated at the age of 19 from the University of Chicago, where he met his wife, Andrea. After receiving his MD at Harvard, he devoted himself to basic science research. As a postdoctoral fellow, he studied physics before going to the Medical Research Council in England. His mentors included Elkan Blout, Edward Purcell, and John Kendrew. In 1963, Dr. Stryer was recruited to the Biochemistry Department at Stanford as an assistant professor. in 1969 he was recruited to Yale as Professor of Molecular Physics and Biochemistry. He returned to Stanford in 1976 to serve as the founding chair of the new Structural Biology Department.

Long fascinated by “the interplay of light and life,” Stryer pioneered the application of fluorescence spectroscopy to explore the dynamics of biological macromolecules. Stryer and Haugland established that the efficiency of energy transfer is dependent on the inverse 6th power of the distance between two light absorbing groups, the donor and acceptor molecule. This led to the realization that energy transfer can be employed as a “spectroscopic ruler” as cited in over 12,000 scientific papers by now.

As a second theme of his reflections, Stryer focused on how light acts on photoreceptor cells to trigger a signaling pathway to initiate vision. Here he described the distinct lines of evidence converging to lead to his discovery of an amplifying protein. This protein in rods allows for incredible sensitivity to light and underlies how a single photon can trigger the activation of a neuron. This story is told in a way that the sequence of gaps and discoveries is revealed. Stryer shared a sense of gratitude for a rewarding life of research and teaching, and for the rich, collaborative environment at Stanford.

Throughout his life, and in appreciation of Life, Stryer is captivated by visual imagery and color. Retiring at the age of 65, though still mentoring students and younger colleagues, the “gift of time” is allowing new explorations in international travel with Andrea, and in art through his nature photography. His lecture was capped by a handful of stunning photographs, including gorgeous examples of color in the natural world.