Conly Rieder

Conly Leroy Rieder is a cancer researcher in the field of mitotic cellular division. His research was funded by the National Institute of Health grants spanning the period from 1980 and 2011. The research was conducted at the Wadsworth Center, part of the New York State Department of Health in Albany, New York. The scope of his research included understanding cell division processes and cancer pathology.

Publications
Rieder has published findings regarding:
 * Chromosome motility
 * Spindle assembly
 * Mitotic checkpoints

Education and early career
During his childhood, Rieder spent summers surfing in Southern California and fishing on Flathead Lake in Montana, experiences that later sparked his interest in nature. When he enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, as an undergraduate, he initially intended to study forestry but ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1972. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of Oregon under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Bajer, earning an M.S. in 1975 and a Ph.D. in 1977. Following this, he pursued post-doctoral studies under Dr. Hans Ris at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on high-power electron microscopy.

Work at the Wadsworth Center
In 1980, Rieder joined the New York State Department of Health and attained tenure within three years. He has authored over a hundred peer-reviewed research papers on cell division and has contributed to and edited various textbooks and encyclopedia articles. His articles have been published in highly ranked journals, including Science, Nature, and The Journal of Cell Biology.

As a cytologist, Rieder was the first to observe microtubule capture by kinetochores in living cells. This process was predicted by Mark Kirschner and Tim Mitchison in 1986, who formulated the so-called "search and capture" hypothesis of mitotic spindle assembly. Rieder's 1990 papers provided the first direct observation of this process. Rieder also developed the concept of "polar wind," a force that ejects chromosome arms from the spindle. This hypothesis stems from laser experiments conducted in the 1990s and remains a concept widely accepted by the field. Rieder has said the discovery of polar ejection forces is the accomplishment of which he is proudest. His images depicting the newt lung cells going through various stages of mitosis have been published in several journal covers alongside his articles.

Rieder contributed to the concept of "spindle assembly checkpoint" (SAC). Rieder pioneered the idea that cells remain in mitosis until each chromosome becomes attached to the spindle, and only then mitotic exit is initiated. By using the laser to ablate kinetochores on individual chromosomes, he proved that the signal that delays mitotic progression is produced by kinetochores that lack attachment to spindle microtubules.

Rieder was specialized in electron microscopy, serial sectioning, and three-dimensional imaging of cells and conducted research using correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), a technique that allows researchers to correlate dynamic cellular processes with high-resolution structural images.

Throughout his career, Rieder presented his work at scientific forums, collaborated with other leading researchers in the field, and has mentored scientists through their graduate and post-doctoral work. In January 2012, Rieder retired from the New York State Department of Health after a 32-year tenure. Following his retirement, he worked as editor-in-chief of Chromosome Research for eight years before retiring from this role.

Critique of current science
In an interview with Current Biology, Rieder claimed science "has become a big business with the associated evils of making money." The researcher attributed his critique to academic institutions' expectation that scientists receive multiple grants before earning a promotion or tenure. Rieder claimed the system causes stress among researchers, the publication of "premature or incomplete findings," and insubstantial journal articles.

Personal life
Conly Rieder was born on November 2, 1950, in Orange County, California. He was the son of a World War II pilot and thus spent several years in Japan in his youth. Rieder worked 30 to 40 hours in fast food per week to finance his undergraduate education. In the early 1970s, Rieder issued a marriage proposal that was rejected, which he later said helped his career trajectory.

In 1979, Rieder married Susan Nowogrodzki, a ceramicist, while working in Madison, Wisconsin. The couple has two daughters.

Rieder currently lives in Upstate New York with his wife, Susan.