Born on August 28, 1928, William J. Rutter received a B.A. in Biochemistry from Harvard University in 1949, after a year at Brigham Young University and a stint in the Navy. He went on to get an M.S. from the University of Utah (1950) and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (1952). After post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin (1952-1954) and the Nobel Institute in Sweden (1954-1955), Rutter joined the faculty at the University of Illinois (1955-1963). In 1962-1963, he went to Stanford on a Guggenheim Fellowship, and then returned to Illinois as a full professor (1963-1965). He held a joint professorship in genetics and biochemistry at the University of Washington from 1965-1968, before becoming Hertzstein Professor of Biochemistry and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF in 1969. Chairman of the department until 1982, Rutter became the Director of the Hormone Research Institute at UCSF in 1983. In addition he held numerous extramural appointments, including serving on advisory committees for various national and international laboratories and scientific organizations. He also held offices in various professional societies and served on a number of journal editorial boards. Rutter became an emeritus professor in 1991. Among Rutter's research contributions are, discovery and characterization of the three RNA polymerase transcription systems operating in eucaryotic gene expression, cloning and structural and functional analysis of the insulin gene, nucleotide sequencing of hepatitis B virus, and development (with Chiron corporation and Merck) of the first commercial genetically engineered human vaccine, for hepatitis B. In 1981, he and two colleagues formed Chiron Corporation.
From the description of William J. Rutter papers, 1964-1995. (University of California, San Francisco). WorldCat record id: 177295393
