Profile of Roy H. Doi

War is a defining act; it can both shape and destroy nations, and it leaves lasting legacies for the individuals touched by it. Roy H. Doi is one such individual. If it wasn't for war, he may not have ended up where he is today, a Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of California, Davis (Davis, CA) and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (elected in 2006).

Doi is a leader in advancing understanding of the mechanisms of RNA polymerase, sigma factors, ribosomes, transfer RNA, and other components of the machinery that control bacterial gene expression. Since 1989, he has been interested in a second type of bacterial machinery, the cellulosome. This complex of enzymes and anchoring proteins is secreted by several bacteria so they can break down cellulose and other components of the plant cell wall into sugars. In his Inaugural Article (1) in a recent issue of PNAS, he and his colleagues demonstrate that different bacterial strains can express individual components of the cellulosome and still assemble a functional unit.

It may seem odd that someone who has spent more than 4 decades studying the regulation of gene activity in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, a rather unassuming career choice, would be involved in global conflicts, but in his youth Doi had two experiences that defined his professional aspirations. First, as a son of Japanese immigrants to the United States, Doi spent several years in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, an experience that developed his perseverance in the face of adversity. Second, he served in the U.S. Army in Japan on the heels of the Korean War, where he was first exposed to, and decided to pursue, scientific research.