Eric Alexander Gaucher (born January 1972) is an American biologist best known for his work in a field he termed Evolutionary Synthetic Biology.
Early life and education
Gaucher was guided in biochemistry by Peter Tipton and Bayesian Theory by George Smith. Gaucher subsequently earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida under the tutelage of Steve Benner and Michael Miyamoto. Gaucher received the Walter M. Fitch Award from the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution for his graduate work. He then did postdoctoral work with NASA's Astrobiology Institute in conjunction with a National Research Council Fellowship. After the two-year fellowship, Gaucher served as President of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution.
Career
Gaucher was hired as an Associate Professor by the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 before moving to Georgia State University, where he is currently a professor. The Gaucher group conducts basic and applied research at the interface of molecular evolution and synthetic biology. As of February 2016, his h-index, as calculated by Google Scholar, is 25.
Gaucher is also the founder and president of the early-stage biotechnology company General Genomics. His company exploits novel platforms to engineer proteins for the biomedical and industrial sectors.
Selected publications
Eric A. Gaucher, J. Michael Thomson, Michelle F. Burgan, Steven A. Benner (2003). Inferring the palaeoenvironment of ancient bacteria on the basis of resurrected proteins. Nature 425: 285–88