Chemist, Biologist Wins MIT Inventor's Prize

Carolyn Bertozzi is the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for...
Carolyn Bertozzi is the first woman to win the Lemelson-MIT Prize for outstanding inventors.

A University of California chemistry and biology professor whose research is applied widely in biotechnology became the first woman to win the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Prize for outstanding inventors.

Carolyn Bertozzi, 43, won the $500,000 prize, awarded annually by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Lemelson Foundation, for her work manipulating processes within living cells to engineer their surfaces and secreted proteins. The insights gleaned by Bertozzi at the University of California at Berkeley and as director of the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience research center at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have helped efforts to diagnose and treat cancer, arthritis and tuberculosis.

The biologist holds patents including a cell nanoinjector that introduces molecules into living cells, artificial bone materials, targets for tuberculosis therapy and cell microarray platforms. Bertozzi in 2008 founded Redwood Bioscience, which recently received a $1 million National Institutes of Health grant.

Special Issue

Circular Plastics Economy
Explore the Future of Plastics

Circular Plastics Economy

This special CHEManager issue explores the industry’s pivotal shift towards a more sustainable, circular plastics value chain. Readers will find expert analysis and real-world solutions for today’s most pressing recycling and regulatory challenges.

Interview

Stability in Motion
Strategic Response to a Shifting Pharma Landscape

Stability in Motion

Stefan Oelrich, Member of the Board of Management and President Pharmaceuticals, Bayer, discusses navigating external volatility, reshaping its internal structures, and investing in future-ready capabilities to ensure sustainable growth.

most read

Photo
28.07.2025 • NewsChemistry

VCI Welcomes US-EU Customs Deal

The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) welcomes the fact that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and US President Donald Trump have averted the danger of a trade war for the time being.