Roger Tsien Papers, 1972-2010 (MSS 792)

Restrictions: Original video recordings are restricted. Viewing copies may be available for researchers.

Extent: 9.25 Linear feet (22 archives boxes, 1 card file box, 2 oversized folders)

Papers of Roger Y. Tsien (1952-2016), biochemist and professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry. Tsien was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008 for his research on green fluorescent protein. The collection includes correspondence, writings, research materials, laboratory notebooks, and video recordings.

Roger Yonchien Tsien was born February 1, 1952 in New York City. At the age of sixteen, he was awarded first prize in the 1968 Westinghouse Science Talent Search. He attended Harvard College and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry and physics in 1972, followed by a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Cambridge in 1977. Tsien was a research fellow at Cambridge from 1977 to 1981, and assistant professor of physiology and anatomy at UC Berkeley from 1982-1989. In 1989, he became professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry at UC San Diego, as well as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Tsien was best known for his research in the expression and development of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Originally found in bioluminescent jellyfish, fluorescent proteins can be used to tag proteins in living cells, allowing biological processes to be viewed in real time. Tsien and his colleagues Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory and Martin Chalfie of Columbia University shared the Nobel Prize in 2008 for their discovery and research into green fluorescent protein. Tsien and his laboratory at UC San Diego developed a variety of colors of fluorescent proteins, which could be used to visualize biological functions simultaneously, and developed fluorescent dyes for use in calcium imaging.

Roger Tsien was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Institute of Medicine, and the Royal Society of London. He received the UC San Diego Lifetime Innovation Award in 2009, and the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 2004. Tsien died on August 24, 2016 in Eugene, Oregon.

Papers of Roger Y. Tsien (1952-2016), biochemist and professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Tsien shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for his research on the development and expression of green fluorescent protein. The collection includes correspondence, writings, research materials, laboratory notebooks, and video recordings.

Arranged in five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) WRITINGS, 3) RESEARCH PROJECTS, 4) TEACHING MATERIALS, and 5) VIDEO RECORDINGS.

Container List

CORRESPONDENCE

Scope and Content of Series

Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE: Tsien's correspondence from 1981-1995, primarily with biochemistry researchers on fluorescent imaging. Arranged alphabetically by surname or corporate name.

Box 1 Folder 1
A - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 2
Adrian, Richard Hume and Lucy, 1985-1995
Box 1 Folder 3
Azzone, G.F., 1985
Box 1 Folder 4
B - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 5
Baker, Peter F., 1984-1985
Box 1 Folder 6
Barker, Jeffery L., 1983-1985
Box 1 Folder 7
Baylor, Stephen, 1983-1988
Box 1 Folder 8
Bellelli, Andrea, 1987

Includes photograph of melanoma B16 cells treated with fluorescent ricin.

Box 1 Folder 9
Berchtold, Martin W., 1991

Includes notes for Tsien's film on Ca²⁺.

Box 1 Folder 10
Berggren, Per-Olof, 1985-1988
Box 1 Folder 11
Berridge, Michael J., 1988-1991
Box 1 Folder 12
Blinks, John, 1991-1992
Box 1 Folder 13
Bolsover, Stephen, 1987-1988
Box 1 Folder 14
Bourne, Geoffrey H., 1982
Box 1 Folder 15
Brown, Edward M., 1984-1987
Box 1 Folder 16
Brunet, Jean-Francois, 1991-1993
Box 1 Folder 17
Bullock, Theodore H., 1984
Box 1 Folder 18
Bulman, Robert A., 1981
Box 1 Folder 19
Burke, Thomas J., 1983
Box 1 Folder 20
C - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 21
Carafoli, Ernesto, 1986-1993
Box 1 Folder 22
Chen, Tsung-Hsien, 1982-1983
Box 1 Folder 23
Chiesi, Michele, 1990-1991
Box 1 Folder 24
Cobbold, Peter H., 1984-1990
Box 1 Folder 25
Conn, P. Michael, 1982-1985
Box 1 Folder 26
Connor, John A., 1984
Box 1 Folder 27
Covalent Associates (Victor R. Koch), 1985-1987
Box 1 Folder 28
Czerlinski, George, 1989-1992
Box 1 Folder 29
D - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 30
Delumeau, J. Christophe, 1988-1989
Box 1 Folder 31
Denton, Richard M., 1987
Box 1 Folder 32
Deutsch, Carol, 1982-1987
Box 1 Folder 33
Donowitz, Mark, 1981-1985
Box 1 Folder 34
E - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 35
Eisenberg, Robert S., 1989-1991
Box 1 Folder 36
F - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 37
Fay, Fredric S., 1984-1992
Box 1 Folder 38
Firtel, Richard A., 1986
Box 1 Folder 39
Forsén, Sture and Sara Linse, 1983-1992
Box 1 Folder 40
G - Miscellaneous
Box 1 Folder 41
Geerts, H., 1987
Box 1 Folder 42
Genesis Consulting Services, 1992
Box 1 Folder 43
Grattarola, Massimo, 1983-1984
Box 2 Folder 1
Gray, Peter T.A., 1985
Box 2 Folder 2
Green, David P.L., 1989
Box 2 Folder 3
Grell, E., 1983
Box 2 Folder 4
Grezes, J-R., 1985
Box 2 Folder 5
Grinstein, Sergio, 1982
Box 2 Folder 6
Grynkiewicz, Grzegorz, 1984-1993
Box 2 Folder 7
Gupta, Sudhir Kumar, 1991
Box 2 Folder 8
H - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 9
Hanley, Michael R., 1986-1987
Box 2 Folder 10
Haugland, Richard (Molecular Probes, Inc.), 1985-1987
Box 2 Folder 11
Heikkila, Reino, 1982-1983
Box 2 Folder 12
Holmuhamedov, E.L., 1989-1990
Box 2 Folder 13
Houslay, Miles, 1997
Box 2 Folder 14
I - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 15
Inoué, Shinya, 1985-1988
Box 2 Folder 16
J - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 17
Jaffe, Lionel, 1987-1993
Box 2 Folder 18
Jeromin, Andreas, 1990-1993
Box 2 Folder 19
Jouvin, Marie-Hèléne, 1993-1994
Box 2 Folder 20
K - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 21
Kito, Shozo, 1992
Box 2 Folder 22
L - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 23
Lamb, Trevor D., 1985-1987
Box 2 Folder 24
Lee, A.G. (Tony), 1987
Box 2 Folder 25
Lee, Linda, 1994
Box 2 Folder 26
Leong, Denis A., 1985-1986
Box 2 Folder 27
Lester, Henry A., 1984-1990
Box 2 Folder 28
M - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 29
Machen, Terry, 1990-1995
Box 2 Folder 30
Meldolesi, Jacopo, 1985-1992
Box 2 Folder 31
Modern Cell Biology , 1987
Box 2 Folder 32
Moolenaar, Wouter H., 1982-1988
Box 2 Folder 33
N - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 34
Nachshen, Daniel A., 1984
Box 2 Folder 35
Nanjundiah, V., 1991
Box 2 Folder 36
Neher, Erwin, 1984-1995
Box 2 Folder 37
Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK Enterprises), 1986-1988
Box 2 Folder 38
O - Miscellaneous
Box 2 Folder 39
Ogura, Akihiko, 1986-1989
Box 2 Folder 40
P - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 1
Paoletti, Rodolfo, 1982
Box 3 Folder 2
Parrilla, Roberto, 1983
Box 3 Folder 3
Polito, Vito S., 1985-1986
Box 3 Folder 4
Potter, Barry V.L., 1989-1991
Box 3 Folder 5
Q - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 6
R - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 7
Requena, Jaime, 1984
Box 3 Folder 8
S - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 9
Sattelmacher, B., 1991
Box 3 Folder 10
Schmitt-Verhulst, Anne-Marie, 1987-1994
Box 3 Folder 11
Semmelhack, Martin F., 1989-1991
Box 3 Folder 12
Sheu, Shey-Shing, 1984-1986
Box 3 Folder 13
Simpson, Alec W.M., 1991
Box 3 Folder 14
Sjöholm, Åke, 1991
Box 3 Folder 15
Snowdowne, Kenneth W., 1984-1986
Box 3 Folder 16
Somlyo, Andrew P. and Jack H. Kaplan, 1988
Box 3 Folder 17
Stryer, Lubert, 1989-1991
Box 3 Folder 18
Styrt, Barbara, 1987
Box 3 Folder 19
T - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 20
Takai, Yoshimi, 1984

Includes photographs of Timothy Rink and Roger Tsien in Tsien's laboratory.

Box 3 Folder 21
Terasaki, Mark, 1989-1990

Includes photographs of calcium imaging in sea urchin eggs.

Box 3 Folder 22
Tsien, Richard W., 1986-1991
Box 3 Folder 23
V - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 24
Vijayaraghavan, Sukumar, 1993
Box 3 Folder 25
W - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 26
Wang, Cheng-Teh, 1987
Box 3 Folder 27
Wang, Jian-xun, 1986
Box 3 Folder 27
Wietzerbin, J., 1983
Box 3 Folder 29
Williamson, Richard E., 1982
Box 3 Folder 30
Wilson, H. Alexander (Sandy), 1983-1986
Box 3 Folder 31
Wojnowski, Leszek, 1992
Box 3 Folder 32
Wojtowicz, Martin, 1991
Box 3 Folder 33
Wung, Chi-Chang, 1984
Box 3 Folder 34
Y - Miscellaneous
Box 3 Folder 35
Yoshizawa, Susumu, 1991
Box 3 Folder 36
Yuspa, Stuart H. and Henry Hennings, 1982
Box 3 Folder 37
Z - Miscellaneous

WRITINGS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 2) WRITINGS: Manuscripts, drafts, correspondence and notes for Tsien's writings on green fluorescent protein, and a bound copy of his Ph.D. dissertation, The Design and Use of Organic Chemical Tools in Cellular Physiology. Also includes a guide and an annotated printout of a computer program written by Tsien for the digital imaging system used in his laboratory. Arranged by title.

Box 4 Folder 1
The Design and Use of Organic Chemical Tools in Cellular Physiology. Ph.D. dissertation submitted to Churchill College, University of Cambridge, 1976 September
Box 4 Folder 2-3
Digital imaging computer program - Annotated printout, 1992
Box 4 Folder 4
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET): A Biological Readout for Molecular Proximity, undated
Box 4 Folder 5
GFP for Relatively Lay Audiences, 1996
Box 4 Folder 6
Green Fluorescent Protein Mutants as Indicators of Phosphorylation. With Andrew B. Cubitt, 1998
Box 4 Folder 7-8
Guide to Operating the Ratio Imaging Processing System, 1985-1990
Box 4 Folder 9
The Three-Dimensional Structure of Green Fluorescent Protein Resembles a Lantern. With C.-K. Wu, et al, 1997

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 3) RESEARCH PROJECTS: Laboratory notebooks, notes, data, and images created by Tsien and members of his lab. Arranged in three subseries: A) Notebooks and Notes, B) Green Fluorescent Protein, and C) Tsien Laboratory.

A) Notebooks and Notes: Research notebooks, notes, and binders kept by Tsien. Nine bound laboratory notebooks from 1972-1995 contain research notes with dated entries. Some volumes include inserted notes, data, and images. Seventy-seven spiral bound notebooks from 1972-2010 were numbered by Tsien and contain research notes, notes on scientific publications, personal notes, and appointments. Many of the entries are undated. Four unlabeled research binders with data and notes from 1982-1991 were numbered during processing. Tsien also kept notebooks on calcium and sodium ion chelators, and notes on software and electronic circuits.

B) Green Fluorescent Protein: Correspondence, notes, data and images regarding green fluorescent protein research, as well as laboratory protocols written by chemist Alice Y. Ting while she was a postdoctoral researcher in Tsien's lab.

C) Tsien Laboratory: Laboratory notebooks kept by members of Tsien's lab, including Akwasi Minta, Carsten Schultz, Grzegorz Grynkiewicz, Javier Garcia-Sancho, Lewis R. Makings, Tito Gonzalez, and Wenhong Li. Topics include nuclear magnetic resonance, chelators, buffers, and dyes.

Notebooks and Notes

Box 4 Folder 10-11
Ca²⁺ chelators - Biology, 1983
Box 5 Folder 1-3
Ca²⁺ chelators - Chemistry, 1983-1988
Box 5 Folder 4
Close-Up modem remote communications software - Notes, 1994
Box 5 Folder 5
General IC and semiconductor specifications - Notes
Box 5 Folder 6-9
Laboratory notebooks, 1972 October 16-1977 July 18
Box 6 Folder 1-5
Laboratory notebooks, 1977 July 18-1995 January 2
Box 6 Folder 6
Na⁺ chelators, 1985-1988
Box 6 Folder 7-8
Notebooks #1-2, 1972
Box 7 Folder 1-11
Notebooks #3-13, 1973-1977
Box 8 Folder 1-10
Notebooks #14-23, 1977-1982
Box 9 Folder 1-9
Notebooks #24-32, 1983-1990
Box 10 Folder 1-9
Notebooks #33-41, 1990-1994
Box 11 Folder 1-8
Notebooks #42-49, 1995-1998
Box 12 Folder 1-8
Notebooks #50-57, 1998-2002
Box 13 Folder 1-6
Notebooks #58-63, 2002-2005
Box 14 Folder 1-8
Notebooks #64-71, 2005-2008
Box 15 Folder 1-6
Notebooks #72-77, 2008-2010
Box 15 Folder 7-8
Research binder #1, 1982-1983
Oversize FB-529 Folder 4
Research binder #2, 1983-1984
Box 16 Folder 1-7
Research binders #3-4, 1983-1991

Green Fluorescent Protein

Box 16 Folder 8
Correspondence, 1994-2004
Box 16 Folder 9
Laboratory protocols by postdoctoral researcher Alice Y. Ting, 2002
Box 16 Folder 10
Notes, data and images, 1994-1996
Box 17 Folder 1-2
Notes, data and images, 1984-2002

Tsien Laboratory

Box 17 Folder 3-6
Akwasi Minta - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), 1983-1987

FLUO and Rhod precursors. Orthoesterification. BAPTA. Sodium and potassium. Miscellaneous.

Box 17 Folder 7
A.M. #1. A) Dyes, B) Sodium chelators, C) Oxygen chelators, D) Buffers, 1983-1984
Box 18 Folder 1-4
Carsten Schultz - Journals #1-3 and NMR Spectra, 1990-1993
Box 18 Folder 5-7
Grzegorz Grynkiewicz - NMR-I and II, 1983-1984

Experimental procedures, BAPTA derivatives, model heterocycles and their immediate precursors. Substrates, etc. Acetals and TMSX reactions.

Box 19 Folder 1-3
Grzegorz Grynkiewicz - NMR-II, and untitled notebook, 1983-1984

Acetals and TMSX reactions. Spect. Greg's models.

Box 19 Folder 4
Javier Garcia-Sancho - Selected results and summary, undated
Oversize FB-529 Folder 5
Laboratory notebook. 1) Acetylinic dyes 2) Fluorenone dyes 3) Na⁺ (Acridine chem.) 4) Cyanine dyes, 1984-1987
Box 19 Folder 5
Lewis R. Makings - LRMI, 1985-1989
Box 19 Folder 6-7
Tito Gonzalez - Laboratory notebooks #1-2, 1993-1995
Box 20 Folder 1-2
Tito Gonzalez - Laboratory notebooks #4-5, 1995-1996
Box 20 Folder 3-5
Wenhong Li - LIW-INO, LIW-IN (95D) and 94 M, 1993-1996

TEACHING MATERIALS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 4) TEACHING MATERIALS: Correspondence, lecture notes, syllabi, course reviews, exam questions, and images for courses and seminars taught by Tsien in cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, and organic chemistry.

Box 20 Folder 6
BMS 210: Cell Biology, 1990-1994
Box 20 Folder 7
BMS 212: Principles of Cellular Pharmacology, 1992
Box 20 Folder 8
BMS 224: Basic Science Discovery Connects to Therapeutics seminar, 1997
Box 20 Folder 9
BMS 229: Methods in Pharmacology, 1990-1991
Box 20 Folder 10
BMS 230: Receptors and Signal Transduction. With Timothy J. Rink, 1988-1999
Box 20 Folder 11-12
BMS 231: Contemporary Topics in Pharmacology. With Palmer Taylor, 1992-2003
Box 20 Folder 13
BMS 297: Introduction to Research, 1990
Box 21 Folder 1-2
CBB Reading Group: Drugs of the Future, 1996-2001
Box 21 Folder 3-4
CBB Reading Group: Modern Techniques in Drug Discovery, 1998-2001
Box 21 Folder 5-8
Chemistry 140: Organic Chemistry, 1988-1994
Box 22 Folder 1
CMPP 217: Cellular and Molecular Physiology/Pharmacology, 1989
Box 22 Folder 2
MED 260: Modern Techniques of Biomedical Research, 1993-1994
Box 22 Folder 3
Neurosciences 234: Molecular and Cellular Neurochemistry, 1996-1998
Box 22 Folder 4
Pathology 231: Modern Methods in Cellular and Molecular Pathology, 1992-1993
Box 22 Folder 5
SOM 204: Cell Biology and Biochemistry, 2001
Box 22 Folder 6
UC San Diego Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2001-2004

VIDEO RECORDINGS

Scope and Content of Series

Series 5) VIDEO RECORDINGS: VHS videocassette recordings on the use of fluorescent proteins and dyes in intracellular imaging by Roger Tsien and other researchers at UC San Diego, in NTSC and PAL formats. Notes for a film on calcium imaging can be found in the CORRESPONDENCE series under Berchtold.

Box 23 Folder 1
Ca²⁺ cAMP images. Roger Tsien, UC San Diego, 1993

PAL videocassette.

Box 23 Folder 2
Ca²⁺ waves induced by vasopressin in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. Toru Kawanishi and Roger Tsien, et al, 1993 September 13
Box 23 Folder 3
Cameleons in C. elegans and murine cardiomyocytes. Camgaroo in HeLa. Roger Tsien, et al., UC San Diego
Box 23 Folder 4
Compartmentation of intracellular messengers. Roger Tsien, UC San Diego, 1994 January 25
Box 23 Folder 5
Compartmentation of messengers. Roger Tsien, 1993 November 12
Box 23 Folder 6
Fura-2, Indo-1, FICRLR images. Colorized theo-3 heart b2. Ca²⁺ cAMP, confocal images. Roger Tsien, et al., 1992 November
Box 23 Folder 7
Fura-2, Indo-1, FICRLR images. Lamprey. Roger Tsien, 1992-1993
Box 23 Folder 8
Lobster movie. Imaging of cAMP in lobster stomatogastric ganglion during stimulation of afferent nerve. Roger Tsien, et al, Department of Pharmacology and Biology, UC San Diego, 1996 May 1
Box 23 Folder 9
Nikon RCM demo, 1992. Imaging compartmentation talk, 1993 November. Roger Tsien, et al., 1992-1993
Box 23 Folder 10
Tsien/Kerr/Lev-Ram/Zacharias. Worm, heart, Camgaroo. Roger Tsien, Geoff Baird, and David Zacharias, UC San Diego, 1999

PAL videocassette, 4:57:04.