Research Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Director, New York Center for Studies on the Origins of Life
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Education:
Ph.D., Natural Products Chemistry, Indiana University
B.S., Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania

Career Highlights:
Postdoctoral studies were performed at MIT and the Salk Institute. Ferris joined RPI in 1967 and in 1969 was awarded a NIH Career Award which enabled him to expand the scope of his studies to research programs at the interface of chemistry and biology. Visiting appointments were at the NASA Ames Research Center, the Eidgenossiche Technische Hochschule in Zurich and the Salk Institute. He served as editor of the Journal Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere for 18 years and chaired the NASA Exobiology Advisory Committee for five years. Ferris is a Trustee of the Universities Space Research Association representing the Northeastern US region. In 1996 he was awarded the Oparin Medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origins of Life for his research on the origins of life.

Research Areas:
Origins of Life
The synthesis of biological macromolecules under conditions which may have existed on the primitive earth is an area of current investigation. The emphasis is on pathways for the formation of oligomers of RNA since it has been demonstrated that RNA has catalytic properties in addition to its ability to store genetic information. This finding suggests that RNA may have had a central function in the first life on the primitive earth. Our studies have shown that clay minerals will catalyze the formation of the RNA aqueous solution. This facile prebiotic synthesis is consistent with the theory that RNA was the most important biopolymer in the first life on Earth. Current studies focus on the prebiotic synthesis of RNA catalysts.

Atmospheric Photochemistry
The photochemical reactions proceeding in the atmospheres of other planets and moons in the solar system are part of a research program with direct connections with the NASA program of planetary exploration. One project in this effort is the investigation of the question of how HCN and organic chromophores form in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Our results strongly suggest that both substances are formed by the photochemical reaction of ammonia with acetylene. A second project in this program is concerned with the photochemical synthesis and reactions of cyanoacetylene in the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. This research program will not only answer questions concerning the atmospheric chemistry of Titan but will also provide insight into chemical processes on the primitive earth. These studies have direct application to the analyses of data from NASA missions to Jupiter and Titan.

Selected Publications:

Selectivity of montmorillonite catalyzed prebiotic reactions of D, L-nucleotides, 2007, Prakash C. Joshi, Stefan Pitsch and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 37, 3-26 [PDF]

Studies in the mineral and salt-catalyzed formation of RNA oligomers, 2006, Shin Miyakawa, Prakash C. Joshi, Michael J. Gaffey, Elena Gonzalez-Toril, Callen Hyland, Teresa Ross, Kristin Rybij and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 36, 343-361. [PDF]

One-step, regioselective synthesis of up to 50 mers of RNA oligomers by montmorillonite catalysis, 2006, Wenhua Huang and James P. Ferris, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 128, 8914-8919. [PDF]

MALDI analysis of oligonucleotides directly from montmorillonite, Dimitri V. Zagorevskii, 2006, Michael F. Aldersley, and James P. Ferris, J. American Society of Mass Spectrometry, 17, 1265-1270. [PDF]

Montmorillonite-catalyzed formation of RNA oligomers:  The possible role of catalysis in the origins of life, 2006, James P. Ferris, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 361, 1777-1786. [PDF]

Catalysis and prebiotic synthesis, 2005, James P. Ferris, in Molecular Geomicrobiology, J. F. Banfield, J. Cervini and K. M. Nealson, eds. (Chantilly, VA, Mineralogical Society of America). pp. 187-210.

Mineral catalysis and prebiotic synthesis: Montmorillonite-catalyzed formation of RNA,  2005, James P. Ferris, Elements, 1, 145-149. [PDF]

Catalysis and Selectivity in Prebiotic Synthesis: Initiation of the Formation of Oligo(U)s on Montmorillonite Clay by Adenosine-5'-methylphosphate, 2005, Kong-Jiang Wang and James P. Ferris, Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 35, 185-226. [PDF]

The role of photochemistry in Titan's atmospheric chemistry, 2005, James Ferris, Buu Tran, Jeffrey Joseph, Veronique Vuitton, Robert Briggs, and Michael Force, Adv. Space Res. 36, 251-257. [PDF]

Photochemical processes on Titan. Irradiation of mixtures of gases that simulate Titan's atmosphere, 2005, Buu Tran, Jeffrey C. Joseph, Michael Force, Robert C. Briggs, Veronique Vuitton and James P. Ferris, Icarus 177, 106-115. [PDF]

Catalysis in Prebiotic Chemistry:  Application to RNA Synthesis, 2004 J. P. Ferris, P. C. Joshi, K.-J. Wang, S. Miyakawa and W. Huang,  Adv. Space Res. 33, 100-105. [PDF]

Sequence- and regio-selectivity in the montmorillonite-catalyzed synthesis of RNA, 2003, Shin Miyakawa and James P. Ferris, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125, 8202-8208. [PDF]

Simulation of Titan haze formation using a photochemical flow reactor. The optical constants of the polymer, 2003, B. N. Tran, J. C. Joseph, J. P. Ferris, P. D. Persans, and J. J. Chera, Icarus, 165, 379-390. [PDF]

The Photochemical Formation of a Titan Haze Analog. Structural Analysis by X-Ray Photoelectron and Infrared Spectroscopy, 2003, Buu. N. Tran, James P. Ferris and John J. Chera, Icarus, 162, 114-124. [PDF]

Synthesis of 35-40 mers of RNA oligomers from unblocked monomers. A simple approach to the RNA world, 2003, Wenhua Huang and James P. Ferris, Chem. Commun. 1458-1459. [PDF]

Cations as Mediators of the Adsorption of Nucleic Acids on Clay Surfaces in Prebiotic Environments, 2003, Marco Franchi, James P. Ferris and Enzo Gallori, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 33, 1-16. [PDF]

From Building Blocks to the Polymers of Life, James P. Ferris, 2002. Life's Origins. The Beginning of Biological Evolution, J. W. Schopf (Ed.), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, pp. 113-139.

Montmorillonite Catalysis of RNA Elongation: Laboratory Demonstration of Potential Steps in the Origin of the RNA World, 2002, James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolutions of the Biosphere, 32, 311-332. [PDF]

The Rates of Hydrolysis of Thymidyl-3', 5'-Thymidine-H-Phosphonate: The Possible Role of Nucleic Acids Linked by Diesters of Phosphorous Acid in the Origins of Life, 2001, John R. Peyser and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 31, (4/5) 363-380. [PDF]

Effect of Inhibitors on the Montmorillonite Clay-Catalyzed Formation of RNA: Studies on the Reaction Pathway, 2001, Kong-Jiang Wang and James P. Ferris, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 31, (4/5) 381-402. [PDF]

Sequence- and Regio-Selectivity in the Montmorillonite-Catalyzed Synthesis of RNA, Gözen Ertem and James P. Ferris, 2000, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 30, 411-422. [PDF]

Homochiral Selection in the Montmorillonite-catalyzed and Uncatalyzed Prebiotic Synthesis of RNA, Prakash C. Joshi, Stefan Pitsch and James P. Ferris, 2000, Chem. Commun., 2497-2498. [PDF]

The Design and Use of a Photochemical Flow Reactor for the Laboratory Study of Atmospheric Chemistry: Photochemical Reactions of Cyanoacetylene, D. W. Clarke, J. C. Joseph and J. P. Ferris, 2000, Icarus, 147, 282-291. [PDF]