(Archived Article)
James Champoux, B.S. with College Honors in Chemistry: A Life of Extraordinary Research and Distinction
The founding of the UW Honors Program in autumn quarter, 1961, counted as big news in the 1960s, with feature stories not only in the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer, but also in the Spokane Valley Herald, Skagit Valley Herald, Daily Chronicle (Centralia-Chehalis), Tri-City Herald, Bremerton Sun, Daily Olympian, Union Bulletin of Walla Walla, and many more. The names of students selected for the program in the opening years were even published in local papers (see Seattle Times 7/18/1961 for the names of the first cohort). Among those names you will find that of Dr. James Champoux, one of 112 students selected to inaugurate Honors education at the UW.
After completing a B.S. with College Honors in chemistry that included an Honors thesis in organic chemistry and induction into Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. Champoux (’65) earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Stanford in 1970, with concentrated research on bacteriophage lambda under the direction of David Hogness. During his postdoctoral years from 1970-72, he discovered an enzyme called DNA topoisomerase I while working with Nobel Prize recipient Renato Dulbecco, and during a sabbatical leave at MIT in 1980-81 he studied retroviral replication with David Baltimore, who shared the Nobel Prize in 1975 with Dulbecco. Dr. Champoux’s work on DNA topoisomerase I has shown that the enzyme can cause DNA damage and that an enzyme called Tdp1 can repair this damage by a novel pathway.
In 1972 Dr. Champoux returned to the UW as assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and has remained here ever since. Though he currently chairs the Department of Microbiology, Dr. Champoux is no stranger to the classroom. He was the first to teach an entire course on molecular biology and genetics in the introductory biology series at the UW, since 1975 he has taught the undergraduate course “Molecular Biology of Viruses,” and in 1985 he won the UW Distinguished Teaching Award. Other awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship (1980-81), NIH Merit Award (Enzymology of M-MuLV and HIV Replication, 1998), membership in the American Academy of Microbiology (2005) and Washington State Academy of Sciences (2010).
When asked about his undergraduate experience at the UW, Dr. Champoux stated: “Looking back now, it is clear that the honors classes I took instilled in me a love for learning, a passion for research, and a deep appreciation for academic excellence. My experience with outstanding teachers in the UW Honors Program, and the opportunity to begin undergraduate research as a sophomore put me on the path to the perfect career choice for me: a professor in a research university. This year I celebrate 42 years on the UW faculty and my seventh year as chair of my department.”
It turns out that the Honors Program is a family tradition for the Champouxs: we are delighted to report that Dr. Champoux’s daughter Katie will join the UW Honors Program this autumn and has strong interest in the biomedical sciences.