Ray J. Wu is the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the International Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Wu is also a former department chair (1976-1978) of the Section of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology at Cornell University. Wu has been a Senior Visiting Investigator in the Biochemistry Department at Stanford University; a National Science Foundation Senior Fellow at the MRC Laboratory in Cambridge, England, and a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While on sabbatical leave from Cornell (January 1989 – December 1989), Wu was Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology of Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. He served as an Honorary Professor and later as an Adjunct Professor at Peking University as well. Wu served as editor or co-editor for nine volumes of the Recombinant DNA book in the Methods of Enzymology series from 1979 to 1993.
Wu is well known for his distinguished service in education and facilitation of international scientific cooperation. He has been undoubtedly the most influential person in developing U.S./Chinese cooperation in biological science and education. Wu founded the China-United States Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Examination and Application (CUSBEA) program, which (from 1982 to 1989) brought over 400 of the top Chinese students to the U.S. for graduate training. It has produced over 100 faculty members in major universities or key members in industry. These scientists, with colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, formed the Ray Wu Society to promote advancement of the frontiers in life sciences. Among other advisory roles to both the Chinese and Taiwanese governments, Wu was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Molecular Biology, the Institute of Bioagricultural Sciences of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing. The respect for his contributions is shown by the fact that he holds Honorary Professor appointments in more than a dozen Chinese universities and research institutes.
Wu is a pioneer in genetic engineering. He developed the first method for sequencing DNA and some of the fundamental tools for DNA cloning. The strategy he developed in 1970 for determining the sequence of DNA was the location-specific primer-extension approach. After several innovative modifications by other scientists to greatly speed up the process, the same strategy is still being used today. The utilization of this strategy has led to the DNA sequence determination of the entire genomes of rice and human, among other organisms. Knowing the genome sequence of these organisms will help us to understand different genetic traits, and it will eventually benefit agriculture and improve human health.
Following a prominent career in genetic engineering recombinant DNA research, Wu focused his research on one of the important problems of the world – food production and hunger. In 1988, his was one of the first groups to succeed in producing transgenic rice plants. Since then, he has been working on projects in rice biotechnology, and this continues at full pace today. In 1996, he published a method for the production of drought- and salt-tolerant rice plants, which can eventually be used to benefit farmers and consumers. By permitting the use of otherwise unusable land, and improving the productivity of both usable and marginal land, such drought- and salt-tolerant plants have the potential of increasing the yield of major cereal crop plants by 30% by 2025.
Beyond his 300+ original research papers published in international journals in the areas of genetic engineering, medicine, plant biology and plant biotechnology, he holds (or jointly holds) five patents covering a wide range of genetic engineering methods.
Wu has been a loyal and generous ambassador and supporter of Cornell University. He has accompanied President Rawlings on trips to China and donated personal funds to endow a graduate fellowship in the field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology. Wu has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his work. Recently, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2003; and elected a Fellow in the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He was awarded the prestigious Frank Annunzio Award in Science and Technology in 2002, which is a $50,000 award presented by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, for his work in genetic engineering, especially for discovering the first method of sequencing DNA and in the production of new cereal crops.
Among the numerous organizations of which Wu is a member, he currently serves as Scientific Advisor to the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, and is Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Institute of BioAgricultural Sciences in Taiwan. He served as Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Transgenic Plant Program, National Science Council, Taiwan. He served as a Member of the Board of Scientific Counselors, Division of Cancer Biology and Diagnosis, National Cancer Institute from 1984 to 1987. He also served as a key member and twice as Chairman of the Board of Scientific Advisors of the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) between 1982 and 1995. Since 2002, he has been a member of the University Faculty Senate. Since 2003, he has been a member of the CALS Senate Committee.
Wu is a highly accomplished researcher, and successful mentor of many graduate students and postdoctoral associates who are active in academia and industry in the U.S. and other countries. His accomplishments are one reason that molecular biology and plant biotechnology research at Cornell is widely considered to be one of the very top such programs in the world.
Wu lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife, Christina. They have two children: Albert Wu ’80 (A&S), M.D. ’84, and Alice Wu ’82, MS ’86.