Papers
2
Total Citations
376
H-Index
2
About
Charles Weissmann is a pioneering molecular biologist whose groundbreaking work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of prion diseases. His key research areas center on the molecular biology of prions—the infectious proteins responsible for fatal neurodegenerative disorders like scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Weissmann’s major contribution lies in developing a revolutionary cell-based infectivity assay for mouse scrapie prions, as detailed in his highly cited 2003 paper (326 citations). This method replaced slow, imprecise, and costly animal bioassays by isolating neuroblastoma N2a sublines highly susceptible to prions, enabling rapid, sensitive quantification of infectivity and PrPSc accumulation. His subsequent 2008 work (50 citations) refined this approach, creating a robust cell culture system for specific prion strains like Rocky Mountain Laboratory and 22L. Beyond these assays, Weissmann is renowned for his earlier achievements, including the first cloning of interferon genes and demonstrating that prions replicate without nucleic acid. His innovations have accelerated prion research, offering a scalable, ethical alternative to animal testing and opening new avenues for studying prion propagation and therapeutics.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Assaying Prions in Cell Culture50 citations · 2008