Dmitry Georgievich Knorre (born July 28, 1926, Leningrad) - Soviet and Russian scientist in the field of chemical kinetics, molecular biology and bioorganic chemistry. Full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Lenin Prize, Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation. The son of Professor George Knorre.

Biography

Dmitry Georgievich Knorre was born on July 28, 1926 in Leningrad. In 1947 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology named after D. I. Mendeleev, and in 1951 - postgraduate studies at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1967 he defended his thesis for the degree of Doctor of Chemical Sciences; since 1969 - professor.

Since 1951 he worked at the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences (in 1951-1955 he was a junior researcher, in 1956-1960 he was a senior researcher, in 1960-1984 he was a head of the laboratory of the chemistry of nucleic acids, in 1984 -1996 - Director of the Institute.

From 1967 to 1984 he was Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University (NSU).

On November 26, 1968 he was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and on December 29, 1981 - a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (since 1991 - RAS) in the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Chemistry of Physiologically Active Compounds. After 1996 - Advisor to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Member of the editorial board of the journals "Uspekhi khimii" and "Molecular Biology".

Scientific activity

DG Knorre's main areas of research include bioorganic chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins, molecular biology, and chemical kinetics. Under his leadership, cycles of fundamental research were carried out to study the mechanisms of formation of peptide, phosphodiester and phosphamide bonds. He and his students have developed methods for the synthesis of oligonucleotides, created a set of reactive derivatives of oligonucleotides used for directed modification of nucleic acids and components of matrix biosynthesis systems.

Took part in writing textbooks for universities:

• in co-authorship with Professor NM Emanuel - "Course of Chemical Kinetics" (1962, then - three more editions);
• in co-authorship with Professor L. F. Krylova and V. S. Muzykantov - "Physical Chemistry" (1981);
• co-authored with Professor SD Myzina - "Biological Chemistry" (1998, then - three more editions; in 2000 he was awarded the RF Government Prize in the field of education);
• in collaboration with Professor S. D. Myzina, Professor O.S. Fedorova and D.Sc. n. T. S. Godovikova - "Bioorganic Chemistry" (2011).

Under the leadership of D.G. Knorre, over 60 Ph.D. theses were defended, and eight of his students became doctors of science.

Awards

• Order of Honor (1999) - for a great contribution to the development of domestic science, training of highly qualified personnel and in connection with the 275th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Order of Lenin (1981)
• Order of the October Revolution (1986)
• 2 Orders of the Badge of Honor (1967, 1985)
• Medal “For Valiant Labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin "(1970)
• Honorary title "Honored Worker of the Higher School of the Russian Federation" (2003)
• Lenin Prize Laureate (1990)
• Laureate of the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (1987)
• Laureate of the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of education (2000)
• Laureate of the MM Shemyakina of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1988) - for a series of works "Investigation of phosphorylation reactions used in bioorganic chemistry"
• Lomonosov Grand Gold Medal (2016)

Personal life

Daughter DG Knorre Vera Dmitrievna is a researcher at the laboratory of biocatalysis at the IBCh RAS.

Jubilee of academician Dmitry Knorre

ACADEMICIAN
DMITRY GEORGIEVICH KNORRE

Dmitry Georgievich Knorre was born on July 28, 1926 in Leningrad. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev in 1947. He worked as a junior, then a senior researcher at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Moscow, 1947-1960), head. laboratory of chemistry of nucleic acids and head. Department of the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, since 1960. Director-organizer (1983-1984), Director (1983-1996), Chief Researcher (since 1996) Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (since 2003 - Institute of Chemical Biology and fundamental medicine SB RAS). Currently - Advisor to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1968, Academician since 1981 - Department of Biological Sciences.

D.G. Knorre is a well-known Russian scientist, the founder of research in the field of molecular biology, bioorganic chemistry and biochemistry at the SB RAS, the founder of the Department of Biochemistry at the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry of the SB RAS and then the Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the SB RAS.

Specialist in the field of bioorganic chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins. Among the most fundamental works carried out under the leadership of DG Knorre are the cycles of research on the mechanisms of formation of peptide, phosphodiester and phosphamide bonds. He and his students developed methods for the synthesis of oligonucleotides and created a wide range of reactive oligonucleotide derivatives for the targeted modification of nucleic acids and the most important components of matrix biosynthesis systems.

More than 60 Ph.D. theses were defended under the supervision of D.G. Knorre, 10 students defended their doctoral dissertations.

Member of the editorial board of the journals "Uspekhi khimii" and "Molecular Biology".

Decorated with the orders: Lenin, "Badge of Honor" (twice), Honor and the October Revolution.

Laureate of the Lenin Prize and the RF Government Prize.

Laureate of the M. M. Shemyakina.

Honored Worker of the Higher School of the Russian Federation.

Dmitry Georgievich Knorre was born on July 28, 1926 in Leningrad. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev in 1947

He worked as a junior, then a senior researcher at the Institute of Chemical Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Moscow, 1947-1960), head. laboratory of chemistry of nucleic acids and head. Department of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1960. Director-organizer (1983-1984), director (1983-1996), chief researcher (since 1996) of the Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry SB RAS (since 2003 - SB RAS). Currently - Advisor to the Russian Academy of Sciences. Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1968, Academician since 1981 - Department of Biological Sciences.

D.G. Knorre is a well-known Russian scientist, the founder of research in the field of molecular biology, bioorganic chemistry and biochemistry at the SB RAS, the founder of the Department of Biochemistry at the SB RAS and then, the Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the SB RAS.

Specialist in the field of bioorganic chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins. Among the most fundamental works carried out under the leadership of DG Knorre are the cycles of research on the mechanisms of formation of peptide, phosphodiester and phosphamide bonds. He and his students developed methods for the synthesis of oligonucleotides and created a wide range of reactive oligonucleotide derivatives for the targeted modification of nucleic acids and the most important components of matrix biosynthesis systems.

Laureate of the M. M. Shemyakina.

Honored Worker of the Higher School of the Russian Federation.

Biobibliographic electronic resource "Academician Dmitry Georgievich Knorre" on the website of the Branch of the State Public Scientific Technical Library of the SB RAS.

Founder and mascot

Read leading publications in all directions, work seven days a week, check employees in the mountains ... On July 28, the founder of the SB RAS Academician Dmitry Georgievich Knorreturns 90 years old. Head of the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry of Enzymes, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told about the secrets that allowed the scientist to successfully manage a scientific organization. Olga Ivanovna Lavrik.

On the attractive atmosphere of science

I came to the laboratory of natural polymers at the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which was headed by Dmitry Georgievich from the very beginning, as a third-year student at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University (I started going to different laboratories to get acquainted with science from the second, I really wanted among them, choose the one that you like the most). And I immediately felt the atmosphere of everyday creativity and creativity that reigned there. Dmitry Georgievich certainly has a talent for creating teams, and he showed it even then. At that time, remarkable researchers worked in the laboratory: Stanislav Konstantinovich Vasilenko, Lev Stepanovich Sandakhchiev, Ernst Georgievich Malygin, Mikhail Alexandrovich Grachev, Alexander Semyonovich Girshovich. They were distinguished by a diverse range of approaches in science, they were graduates of Moscow universities or, before arriving in Siberia, they worked in leading laboratories in Moscow, but came to Dmitry Georgievich because he wanted to create a laboratory that would be the basis for the development of molecular biology and biochemistry in Siberia. These people grew up into remarkable scientists and later organized other leading scientific centers. So, Lev Stepanovich Sandakhchiev, who was later elected an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was the founder and for many years the director of the NPO "Vector" in Koltsov, Mikhail Alexandrovich Grachev (also elected an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences) for many years was a director in Irkutsk.

The laboratory of natural polymers was engaged in a hot problem of that time - the study of the structure and functions of transport RNA (molecules that are key in the process of protein biosynthesis). It must be said that it was there that for the first time in Russia the biochemical production of transport RNA was established and an individual transport RNA specific to the amino acid valine was isolated. Essentially speaking, to a very serious extent in the laboratory of natural polymers and subsequently in the department of biochemistry, the biochemical base of many studies was laid, carried out not only in our institute, but also in many scientific organizations of the country, for example, in the Institute of Molecular Biology named after V.A. Engelhardt RAS. That is, from the very first steps of its existence, the laboratory was key and important for the development of molecular biology in Russia. And this level, despite the fact that the team was young, was felt from the very beginning by us, students and alumni of NSU: we understood that we were working with scientists who were doing important work, studying the hottest problems and striving to make breakthrough discoveries. However, the scientific atmosphere in the laboratory was such that even the development of methods, not to mention the participation in the development of new research methods, we considered the most important of our business, almost at the level of the Manhattan Project. It was very good form to work late, including Saturdays and Sundays. We always went to the laboratory with joy, the atmosphere there was wonderful!

When the department of biochemistry grew out of the laboratory of natural polymers, the development was largely supported by graduates of NSU. As dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU, Dmitry Georgievich paid great attention to the development of physical and chemical biology. Already at the very beginning of the 1970s, he was thinking about creating a specialized department at the university to train scientists in this field with good training in mathematics, physics, physical chemistry. Such training could be provided by the FEN programs, which he supervised as the dean of this faculty. Dmitry Georgievich came from the school of academician N.N. Semyonov, and before his departure to Siberia he worked in Moscow at the Institute of Chemical Physics. His textbooks on chemical kinetics, co-authored with Academician N.M. Emanuel are known to everyone who specializes in this area of \u200b\u200bresearch in the country. Perhaps the main feature of the Knorre school is that research in molecular biology attaches great importance to the "physicochemical foundation," that is, the application of quantitative methods. He taught a course in physical chemistry at the university, which he later moved to the second year of study, because he believed that this was a very important foundation of education. He laid the foundations for the course of biological catalysis, which describes enzymatic transformations in biological systems (this course is still very important in understanding the physicochemical approaches in molecular biology for both chemists and biologists of FEN NSU).

Looking to the future, Dmitry Georgievich was very supportive of NSU graduates. At first I worked with him at the Department of Physical Chemistry as an assistant, then, when I was still in graduate school, he instructed me to teach a course in biological catalysis, which was very much of his confidence and an excellent school of pedagogical work. I still read this course, constantly transforming it in accordance with modern trends in enzymology.

Then, together with academician Rudolf Iosifovich Salganik, D.G. Knorre organized the Department of Molecular Biology at NSU and was its head for several years. In addition to the chemical and biological specialization, the department had a so-called "hybrid" stream, whose students received a significant amount of special courses, originally created for each of these areas.

Dmitry Georgievich was an excellent head of the department, he thought a lot about educational programs and constantly discussed them with employees. It was very interesting to work with him at NSU, and I was enthusiastically leading the specialization of diploma students in chemistry, whose training was constantly improved and modified. It was not clear why he decided to leave this post in 1988. Apparently, with his personal exactingness to the work he performed, it seemed difficult for him to combine the head of the department with the post of director of the institute organized by that time.

About exactingness, hard work and some controversial issues

Dmitry Georgievich really treated the selection of personnel with great attention. There was no such thing that he accepted a person into the laboratory without talking in detail personally. Even when D.G. Knorre was already the head of the institute, he kept this tradition. Now it will be difficult for me to remember, but it seems that he asked me about my hobbies in science. I answered him that I wanted to understand in detail how chemical reactions take place in a living cell. The answer was rather naive, because these are very complex systems of transformations that have not yet been fully studied.

In general, Dmitry Georgievich was very demanding and strict with his students. And this was perfectly read behind his external softness. To be honest, we were, of course, afraid of him. I am, at least, absolutely certain. And for me in life there are two Knorres. One of them was my supervisor in graduate school, and then the head of a department and director of the institute, where, after defending my doctoral dissertation, my laboratory was created. He was a demanding and very strict leader. I remember very well that it was not easy to decide on a conversation about a difficult, but important problem. I planned and pondered it at times for several days. And then, when he ceased to be a director, we developed a warmer human relationship. Probably, it was right - until a certain moment, not to cross the clear border of official communication. To some extent, this was even preferable for me, because it determined my considerable independence in work, which I really liked. But I can say that Dmitry Georgievich always, being first the head of a large department, and then the director of the institute, found time to discuss the results of scientific work with colleagues.

To create the institute, it was necessary to enlist the support of Academician Yuri Anatolyevich Ovchinnikov, who is very influential in our field, who in the 1970s and early 1980s decided all the most important organizational issues and determined the budget distribution in molecular biology. His opinion on the question of what new scientific organizations should be created and on what sites was decisive.

I must say that at that time we did not yet have a council for defending doctoral dissertations, so Dmitry Georgievich sent us to Moscow for this. He sent me to the Institute of Chemistry of Natural Compounds of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (now the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry named after Academicians MM Shemyakin and Yu.A. Ovchinnikov RAS) for a council headed by Yu.A. Ovchinnikov. This, of course, was a great confidence on the part of Dmitry Georgievich. I remember that, realizing the importance of the event, I did not sleep all night before the defense and was very worried. Fortunately, everything went well.

About checking mountains

The main unscientific hobby of D.G. Knorre was mountains. And I can say that my first fairly close acquaintance with him happened there. I came to the laboratory for practice as a third year student, and in the same summer Dmitry Georgievich invited me to go with him on a hike to Altai. There I saw other character traits of Knorre, and they, in general, correlated with the idea of \u200b\u200bhim that had developed in the laboratory. The hike was very difficult. Even of a higher category of complexity than originally planned. It happened a little by accident, because we lost our route, went the wrong way, but opened a difficult pass. There were only two women in this group (me and Vera Altunina (Starostina), we were still very young, and for the first time in our life we \u200b\u200bhad to climb mountains with climbing equipment. Due to the fact that we lost our route, we have at the end of the hike we ran out of food, and the last days we walked completely “light.” Even then I realized that Dmitry Georgievich loves to overcome difficulties and the creative path with him will be very difficult, but full of discoveries and surprises.

I got the impression that D.G. Knorre generally liked to invite his employees to the mountains, probably he got to know them better there somehow. That is, it was such a kind of test before going with them on a long journey of scientific research.

About the connection of times

We are all very happy that Dmitry Georgievich is celebrating his 90th birthday. I must say: the fact that he still comes to the institute every day (I emphasize - everyone, including Saturday and Sunday) is very important for. He is like a talisman for us. Because, after all, the most intensively working laboratories of the institute, actively developing their directions in science, are precisely those headed by D.G. Knorre. Until now, such leading scientists as doctors of chemical sciences G.G. Karpova, G.A. Nevinsky, O.S. Fedorova, director academician V.V. Vlasov.

We all belong to the original school of Dmitry Georgievich, although we already have our own "daughter schools" in our chosen areas of science, recognized in Russia and abroad. Of course, due to the requirements of the times, the new name and direction of the institute, today we are working a lot in the field of fundamental medicine, but we came to this field not as “doctors”, but with solid fundamental directions in chemical biology. This circumstance allows us to develop world-class research, thereby increasing the glory of our institute with serious discoveries, as well as publications in high-rated journals. Therefore, it is true that the first place in the name of the institute is "chemical biology". All the main discoveries are still made in fundamental science, and Dmitry Georgievich seems to be protecting this science by coming to the institute he created every day. It seems to us very touching that the old plaque removed from the entrance with the former name "Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry SB RAS" hangs on the inside of the door of his office. And let her stay there as long as possible.

Recorded by Diana Khomyakova

Photos provided by O.I. Lavrik and from the archive of the SB RAS

Academician Dmitry Georgievich Knorre is a specialist in the field of chemical kinetics, molecular biology and bioorganic chemistry. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Lenin Prize, the Prize of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Prize of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR named after M.M. Shemyakin, Honored Soros Professor.

Knorre Dmitry Georgievich was born on July 28, 1926 in Leningrad. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology (1947). Doctor of Chemical Sciences (1967). Professor (1969). Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1981). Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Specialist in the field of biochemistry. Post-graduate student of the Moscow Institute of Chemical Physics (1947-1951). Junior Researcher (1951), Senior Researcher (1956), Head of the Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Chemistry (1960-1984) of the Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Director of the Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry SB RAS (1984-1996).

The main directions of scientific activity: study of the kinetics and mechanism of complex chemical reactions, development of methods for directed (affine) chemical modification of biopolymers and their application to study the components of the protein biosynthesis system. Assistant (1953), associate professor of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1961), professor (1969), dean (1967-1983) of Novosibirsk State University. Member of the editorial boards of the journals "Molecular Biology", "Bioorganic Chemistry" and "FEBS Letters". Scientific supervisor of works on targeted modification of nucleic acids included in the section of the State Scientific and Technical Program "Newest Methods of Biotechnology". Academician-secretary of the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Chemistry of Physiologically Active Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Currently he is an advisor to the Russian Academy of Sciences. In recent years, D.G. Knorre has been researching the theoretical foundations of complementary-addressed modification; the development of new approaches to the study of phototransformations of oligonucleotide derivatives in duplexes formed by complementary oligonucleotides carrying photoactive groups and residues that model amino acid side radicals; study of photoaffinity modification of supramolecular structures. Throughout most of his activities, he combines research and teaching work.

Academician Knorre created a powerful scientific school. Together with his students, he contributed a lot to the methods of synthesis of oligonucleotides, created a wide range of their reactive derivatives for targeted modification of nucleic acids. In the scientific school of D.G. Knorre, Academician M.Grachev, Corresponding Member. RAS S. Netesov. A student of Academician Knorre V. Vlasov, a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, now heads the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine. For many years, the Department of Biochemistry of the NIOCH and later the NIBKh SB RAS were the forge of highly qualified personnel. Many employees of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine Dmitry Georgievich instilled love and devotion to science. Now they continue to successfully develop the directions he had begun, create new ones and conduct research in hot spots of modern science.

The Directorate of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences informs with deep regret that on July 5, an outstanding scientist and remarkable person, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor Dmitry Georgievich Knorre passed away.

Dmitry Georgievich Knorre is the founder of physical and chemical biology in Siberia, the founding director of the Novosibirsk Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (now the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine) of the SB RAS, which is one of the leading institutes in this field.

Dmitry Georgievich was born on July 28, 1926 in Leningrad in the family of a scientist-engineer. In 1947 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology, in 1951 - graduate school. When the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was created, Professor N.N.Vorozhtsov invited a young promising scientist to his institute to develop chemical methods used in the life sciences. Under the leadership of DG Knorre, fundamental research was carried out, which made it possible to establish the detailed mechanisms of the reactions of the formation of peptide, phosphodiester and phosphamide bonds. DG Knorre and his colleagues were the first in the world to begin work on the creation of genetically targeted biologically active substances.

Academician Knorre proposed the concept of targeting RNA and DNA by oligonucleotide derivatives, carried out the world's first experiments that proved the possibility of specific chemical modification of nucleic acids by such agents, and demonstrated the possibility of suppressing the reproduction of viruses by oligonucleotides. Research carried out by D.G. Knorre and his students, created the foundation for the development of a new direction in pharmacology, which is successfully developing all over the world: the design of nucleic acid preparations for the regulation of gene expression.

Dmitry Georgievich is the founder of a powerful scientific school widely known in Russia and abroad. Among his students are academicians, corresponding members, doctors of sciences and a whole army of candidates of sciences. DG Knorre has successfully combined research and teaching work for many years. For almost four decades he worked at Novosibirsk State University, and from 1967 to 1984 he headed the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and in 1975 created the Department of Molecular Biology, which to this day trains qualified personnel for science.

In 2003, DG Knorre received the honorary title "Honored Worker of the Higher School of the Russian Federation", and in 2008 - the honorary title "Honored Worker of Education of the Russian Federation". Dmitry Georgievich Knorre is the author of over 400 scientific papers in the most authoritative peer-reviewed Russian and international journals. He has written a number of monographs and reviews. He is the author of several high school textbooks.

In 1999, for the creation of the textbook "Biological Chemistry" DG Knorre received the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of education. Dmitry Georgievich's many-sided activities have been awarded a number of Russian and foreign awards and prestigious prizes.

Academician D.G. Knorre is a laureate of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. M. M. Shemyakin (1988), Lenin Prize (1990), Government of the Russian Federation in the field of education (1999). Dmitry Georgievich was awarded the Order of Lenin (1981), the Order of the Badge of Honor (1967, 1985), the Order of the October Revolution (1986), the Order of Honor (1999), the Medal For Valorous Labor (1970), etc.

In 2016 D.G. Knorre was awarded the Lomonosov Grand Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to the chemistry of nucleic acids, affinity modification of biopolymers, the formation of the most important area of \u200b\u200bpharmacology - therapeutic nucleic acids and the development of gene therapy methods. and others, benevolence - these and other professional and human qualities attracted students, associates and friends from different cities of Russia and the whole world to Dmitry Georgievich.

The memory of Dmitry Georgievich Knorr will remain in our hearts for a long time. This is a great loss for us. We deeply grieve and express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dmitry Georgievich. The farewell procedure for Academician D.G. Knorre will be held in Moscow on July 14, 2018.The place and time of the mourning ceremony will be announced additionally.