Contents
Carolyn Bertozzi
Developing chemical reactions that can work inside living systems without disrupting their normal chemistry.
Bioorthogonal chemistry · Glycan imaging
- Born
- 10 October 1966
- Birthplace
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
More people
Carolyn Bertozzi
Carolyn Bertozzi is an American chemist whose research connects chemistry and cell biology. Her bioorthogonal methods let scientists label and track biological molecules in living systems. She shared the 2022 chemistry Nobel with Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless.
Early life
Scientific surroundings
Grew up in Massachusetts in a family with a strong interest in science.
Harvard and Berkeley
Studied chemistry at Harvard and completed her doctorate at Berkeley in 1993.
Career
- 1996
Berkeley faculty
Started a research group studying the chemistry of sugars on cells.
- 2000s
Bioorthogonal tools
Developed reactions suitable for following biological processes in living systems.
- 2015
Moving to Stanford
Joined Stanford after leading a research group at Berkeley.
- 2022
Nobel recognition
Shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for click and bioorthogonal chemistry.
Contributions
Bioorthogonal chemistry
Created tools that react with selected targets without interfering broadly with cell chemistry.
Glycan imaging
Used chemical labelling to study sugars on cell surfaces.
Disease-focused chemistry
Extended these approaches towards understanding cancer and developing targeted treatments.
Beyond the lab
Music
Played keyboards in bands while studying at Harvard.
Inclusive laboratories
Has spoken about exclusion she encountered as a student and the importance of welcoming research environments.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional biography and career record ↗Photo: Christopher Michel. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
