Elliot Lawrence Elson

Alumni Endowed Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics.Elson helped to develop the concept of fluorescence-correlation spectroscopy and fluorescence photobleaching recovery, providing the conceptual basis and experimental realization for the now widely used experimental techniques in biophysical research. Contributed to development of the quantitative methods for measuring the mobility of membrane proteins on living cell surfaces. Collaborated in early research to characterize molecular mobility on biological cell membranes. Invented a method for characterizing cell stiffness by microindentation, which has proved useful in investigations of the mechanical properties of cells and tissue constructs. Studied mechanisms of activation of contractile forces and the contributions of calcium ion-dependent and independent pathways for the activation of nonmuscle myosin. Now studying cardiomyocyte-populated tissue constructs with the goal of generating systems to investigate tissue-remodeling processes that occur after myocardial infarction or in response to hypertension. Recipient, Gregorio Weber Award of the Biophysical Society (2007).