Marvin Caruthers

Marvin H. Caruthers, a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at CU Boulder, transformed modern chemical biology through his pioneering work on the chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA. In the 1980s, the Iowa State and Northwestern-educated scientist, then a professor at CU, developed efficient methods for producing short DNA sequences, or oligonucleotides, reducing a lengthy process that took months down to just a few hours. This breakthrough laid the groundwork for human genome research and the emergent post-genomic era. Several of his key patents in custom DNA and RNA production helped launch the biotechnology industry. In this domain, Caruthers co-founded Applied Biosystems, helping bridge academic research and the biotech industry with his “Gene Machine” that enables rapid DNA synthesis in labs nationwide. Of his numerous awards, one of the most distinguished of them was the U.S. National Medal of Science awarded to Caruthers in 2006.

Source: CU Biochemistry