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Molecular Biology
USA
2026
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Genetics and Molecular Biology
USA
2024

D-Index & Metrics

Molecular Biology

D-Index
164
Citations
106217
World Ranking
56
National Ranking
38

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2024 - Research.com Genetics and Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Molecular Biology in United States Leader Award
  • 1999 - Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University
  • 1999 - Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Prize, General Motors Cancer Research Foundation
  • 1998 - Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • 1997 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1991 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Overview

Robert Tjian is affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology, with a concentration on Molecular Biology, Biophysics, Infectious Diseases, Genetics, and Cell Biology as subfields.

The scientist's work covers several specific topics including:

  • Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
  • RNA Research and Splicing
  • Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
  • SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
  • Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
  • Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
  • Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Robert Tjian has published extensively in several venues, with frequent appearances in:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • Molecular Cell
  • eLife

Co-authorship collaborations have been significant, with frequent coauthors including:

  • Xavier Darzacq (49 joint publications)
  • Gina M. Dailey (31 joint publications)
  • Thomas G.W. Graham (23 joint publications)
  • Claire Dugast-Darzacq (14 joint publications)
  • Claudia Cattoglio (11 joint publications)

Recent publications by Robert Tjian include:

  • "Resolving the 3D Landscape of Transcription-Linked Mammalian Chromatin Folding" (2020, Molecular Cell)
  • "Overcoming the bottleneck to widespread testing: a rapid review of nucleic acid testing approaches for COVID-19 detection" (2020, RNA)
  • "Enhancer-promoter interactions and transcription are largely maintained upon acute loss of CTCF, cohesin, WAPL or YY1" (2022, Nature Genetics)
  • "ecDNA hubs drive cooperative intermolecular oncogene expression" (2021, Nature)
  • "Tuning levels of low-complexity domain interactions to modulate endogenous oncogenic transcription" (2022, Molecular Cell)

The scientist has been recognized with multiple awards, including:

  • Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Prize, General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (1999)
  • Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University (1999)
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Genetics and Molecular Biology (1998)
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1997)
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1991)

Best Publications

  • Transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins

    Pamela J. Mitchell;Robert Tjian

  • Purified transcription factor AP-1 interacts with TPA-inducible enhancer elements

    Wes Lee;Pamela Mitchell;Robert Tjian

  • Isolation of cDNA encoding transcription factor Sp1 and functional analysis of the DNA binding domain.

    James T. Kadonaga;Kristin R. Carner;Frank R. Masiarz;Robert Tjian

  • Analysis of Sp1 in vivo reveals mutiple transcriptional domains, including a novel glutamine-rich activation motif

    Albert J. Courey;Robert Tjian

  • The promoter-specific transcription factor Sp1 binds to upstream sequences in the SV40 early promoter

    William S. Dynan;Robert Tjian

  • Purification and biochemical characterization of the promoter-specific transcription factor, Sp1

    Michael R. Briggs;James T. Kadonaga;Stephen P. Bell;Robert Tjian

  • Transcription regulation and animal diversity

    Michael Levine;Robert Tjian

  • Human Proto-Oncogene c-jun Encodes a DNA Binding Protein with Structural and Functional Properties of Transcription Factor AP-1

    Dirk Bohmann;Timothy J. Bos;Arie Admon;Tetsuji Nishimura

  • Transcriptional activation: A complex puzzle with few easy pieces

    Robert Tjian;Tom Maniatis

  • Control of eukaryotic messenger RNA synthesis by sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins

    William S. Dynan;William S. Dynan;Robert Tjian

  • Affinity purification of sequence-specific DNA binding proteins.

    James T. Kadonaga;Robert Tjian

  • Promoter-specific activation of RNA polymerase II transcription by Sp1

    James T. Kadonaga;Katherine A. Jones;Robert Tjian

  • Mechanism of transcriptional activation by Sp1: evidence for coactivators.

    B.Franklin Pugh;Robert Tjian

  • The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans.

    Nicole King;M Jody Westbrook;Susan L Young;Alan Kuo

  • A cellular DNA-binding protein that activates eukaryotic transcription and DNA replication

    Katherine A. Jones;James T. Kadonaga;Philip J. Rosenfeld;Thomas J. Kelly

  • Positive and negative regulation of transcription in vitro: enhancer-binding protein AP-2 is inhibited by SV40 T antigen.

    Pamela J. Mitchell;Charlotte Wang;Robert Tjian

  • Structure and Function of a Human TAFII250 Double Bromodomain Module

    Raymond H. Jacobson;Andreas G. Ladurner;David S. King;Robert Tjian

  • Orchestrated response: a symphony of transcription factors for gene control.

    Bryan Lemon;Robert Tjian

  • O-glycosylation of eukaryotic transcription factors: Implications for mechanisms of transcriptional regulation

    Stephen P. Jackson;Robert Tjian

  • Two distinct RNase activities of CRISPR-C2c2 enable guide-RNA processing and RNA detection

    Alexandra East-Seletsky;Mitchell R. O’Connell;Spencer C. Knight;David Burstein

Frequent Co-Authors

Xavier Darzacq
Xavier Darzacq University of California, Berkeley
Arie Admon
Arie Admon Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
James T. Kadonaga
James T. Kadonaga University of California, San Diego
Eva Nogales
Eva Nogales University of California, Berkeley
Brian David Dynlacht
Brian David Dynlacht New York University
Kyoko Yokomori
Kyoko Yokomori University of California, Irvine
Anders M. Näär
Anders M. Näär University of California, Berkeley
Katherine A. Jones
Katherine A. Jones Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Stephen P. Jackson
Stephen P. Jackson University of Cambridge
Trevor Williams
Trevor Williams Texas A&M University

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