Dr. Stanley N. Cohen, Professor of Genetics and Medicine at Stanford University, will give a lecture at Academia Sinica on October 12, 2010. During his lecture entitled “Being a scientist: A personal history of the invention of recombinant DNA and the start of biotech”, Professor Cohen will relate the personal story of how his investigations of the role of plasmids (small DNA circles) in bacterial antibiotic resistance led to one of the great scientific discoveries of our time, a world-wide controversy about the safety of genetic engineering, and the birth of the biotechnology industry. Members of the media are welcome to attend.
Professor Cohen is most well-known for the invention, along with Dr. Herbert W. Boyer, of the first recombinant DNA methodology that allowed genes to be transplanted and cloned among different biological species. This DNA cloning technique, now a cornerstone of modern biological science, revolutionized the field by opening up a pathway to the understanding of the structure and function of genes at the molecular level, both in health and disease. It gave rise to genetic engineering and led to the growth of the entire biotech industry. He and Boyer are named as the inventors on Stanford’s patents underlying recombinant DNA. Professor Cohen’s research, including the landmark DNA cloning methods, as well as his biotech patents and advisory roles, have made him one of founding fathers of the biotechnology industry.
Professor Cohen has a long history of association with Taiwan. He holds the Kwoh-ting Li professorship in the School of Medicine at Stanford, which was one of four professorships endowed in Professor Li’s honor by Stanford alumni from Taiwan. He also formerly chaired a Stanford faculty committee established to further academic relationships between Taiwan and Stanford and hosted and planned scientific exchanges between U.S. and Taiwan scientists. In addition, he has served as a scientific advisor to the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Molecular Biology on numerous occasions.
Professor Cohen has authored more than 250 scientific publications. His seminal discoveries earned him the US National Medal of Science in 1986 along with many other accolades such as the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1980), the Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine (1981), the National Medal of Technology in (1989), and the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2004). He is also an elected member of numerous academies and learned societies, including the US National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also an elected member of the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Professor Cohen has been on the faculty of Stanford University since 1968, where he has served as Chairman of the Department of Genetics (1978-1986). His current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms involved in the development of adaptive antimicrobial resistance and the ability of pathogens to exploit host gene functions during infections, as will as on mechanisms that enable cells to respond to signals they encounter in their environment.
During his visit to Taiwan, Professor Cohen will also deliver another lecture, entitled “Exploitation of host genes by pathogenic microbes: new solutions to an old problem”, at the College of Medicine at National Taiwan University on October 13, 2010.
Event:Academia Sinica Special Lecture by Professor Stanley N. Cohen
Title:Being a scientist: A personal history of the invention of recombinant DNA and the start of biotech
Time:15:30 – 17:00
Date:Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Venue:Center of Academic Activities, Academia Sinica,
No.128, Sec.2, Academia Road, Nangang District, Taipei City
Sponsor:Friends of Stanford University Foundation
Speaker:Professor Stanley N. Cohen, School of Medicine, Stanford University
Moderator:Dr. Chi-Huey Wong, President, Academia Sinica
Related Websites:
http://iao.sinica.edu.tw/
