Paul Knoepfler

Key takeaways

Paul Knoepfler belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul Knoepfler to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul Knoepfler from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul S. Knoepfler (born April 10, 1967) is an American biologist, writer, and blogger. He is a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, the Genome Center, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. In 2013, Knoepfler was named one of the 50 most influential people in the stem cell field.

Education Knoepfler received a BA in English Literature from Reed College in 1989 and a PhD in Molecular Pathology from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in 1998 as a Lucille P. Markey Fellow.

Research Knoepfler's research is focused on enhancing the safety of stem cell treatments, including that of induced pluripotent stem cells, and developing novel therapies to target cancers, particularly brain tumors. His lab studies the Myc oncogene and other factors that regulate stem and cancer cell chromatin including histone variant H3.3. Knoepfler did his postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the laboratory of Bob Eisenman, studying Myc regulation of chromatin in stem cells and cancers of the nervous system. During his postdoctoral studies, Knoepfler received a fellowship from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research, and the Howard Temin Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Knoepfler joined UC Davis in 2006 as an assistant professor, shortly after the formation of the California stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). His decision to move was influenced at least in part by the promise of CIRM to vitalize stem cell research in California. He received a $2 million New Faculty Award from CIRM in 2008. More recently, he received the GPI national stem cell advocacy award in 2013. Knoepfler has also received support from the March of Dimes via the Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award and from the National Brain Tumor Society. Knoepfler was more recently awarded grants from the St. Baldrick's Foundation to support work studying how Myc causes childhood brain cancers and potential ways to develop new treatments.

Cancer, blogging, and advocacy Knoepfler was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2009 at age 42, an experience he credits at least in part as the inspiration to start blogging as an academic stem cell researcher. As of 2012, Knoepfler was the only stem cell scientist in the United States who regularly blogged about stem cells. Knoepfler remains in long-term remission from prostate cancer after surgery in 2009. In addition to blogging about stem cells, he blogged about his experience with prostate cancer, a disease that is often not discussed openly by men. Knoepfler received tenure in 2011 while actively blogging, an event he claims demonstrates a growing acceptance of social media in academia. He is a proponent of scientific social media and has been listed as the top person to follow on Twitter to stay current on events in the stem cell field. His blog at http://www.ipscell.com has broken a number of stem cell news stories, including the fraud of Hisashi Moriguchi of Japan, who claimed to have transplanted iPS cells into humans as early as 2012; the unawarded third position for the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; and the explosion of stem cell cosmetics. In addition to his blogging, in 2013 Knoepfler released a book titled Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide, which is aimed at a general audience of both scientists and non-scientists. As part of education and advocacy efforts, Knoepfler has supplied his own funds to support advancing the stem cell cause. In 2012, he awarded multiple $50 iTunes gift cards as prizes for a stem cell essay contest and started a Stem Cell Person of the Year Award that includes a $1,000 cash prize given from Knoepfler's own money. The first winner of this award was stem cell and spinal cord injury patient advocate, Roman Reed. In 2015, Knoepfler published a new book, titled GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies, which discusses the science of human genetic modification. His second book covers the new CRISPR gene editing technology and its possible use in humans, cloning, eugenics, and transhumanism. Knoepfler advocates in the book for a temporary moratorium on clinical use of CRISPR in humans, whether for health condition or even human enhancement to create designer babies. In a TEDx Vienna talk titled "What if my neighbor's kid was genetically modified?" he addresses his concerns on the use of CRISPR in humans. In December 2015, Knoepfler was interviewed on the PBS Nightly News hour along with Jennifer Doudna, by Gwen Ifil. In 2016, he was a panelist on Episode 12 of the TV show Bill Nye Saves the World to discuss CRISPR and designer babies. In 2017, he was the subject of a feature article in Science Magazine for his advocacy and educational outreach work.

In 2019 Knoepfler co-authored his new book with his daughter, Julie Knoepfler, How to Build a Dragon or Die Trying: A Satirical Look at Cutting-Edge Science, which discusses using CRISPR gene editing, stem cells, and bioengineering to make real dragons.

Bibliography Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide (2013) GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies (2015) How to Build a Dragon or Die Trying: A Satirical Look at Cutting-Edge Science (2019)

References

External links UC Davis Genome Center Archived December 10, 2019, at the Wayback Machine World Scientific Publishing

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Knoepfler

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Knoepfler claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Knoepfler before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Knoepfler ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Knoepfler

In research: Paul Knoepfler appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Knoepfler in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Knoepfler is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 births, American science writers, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Knoepfler outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Paul Knoepfler in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul Knoepfler means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paul Knoepfler out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Knoepfler in simple terms?

Paul S. Knoepfler (born April 10, 1967) is an American biologist, writer, and blogger.

Why does Paul Knoepfler matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Knoepfler?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Knoepfler.