The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will honor Nobel Laureate Carolyn R. Bertozzi, PhD, with the 2023 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research during the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting on April 14–19 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Bertozzi’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 16, at 4:30 PM EST at the Orange County Convention Center.
Carolyn R. Bertozzi, PhD
Dr. Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences and Professor (by courtesy) of Chemical and Systems Biology and of Radiology at Stanford University, an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Baker Family Director of Sarafan ChEM-H. Dr. Bertozzi is being recognized for advancing basic and translational cancer research through bioorthogonal chemistry and chemical glycobiology.
The AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research was established by the AACR and its Chemistry in Cancer Research Working Group in 2007 through the support of GlaxoSmithKline to recognize the importance of chemistry to advancements in cancer research.
Research Scope
Dr. Bertozzi is credited with inventing the field of bioorthogonal chemistry, which has enabled the development of numerous experimental approaches in biological research. Historically, chemical reaction conditions have been difficult to control in living cells. To overcome this challenge, Dr. Bertozzi hypothesized that chemical reactions could be specifically designed to occur in living organisms by carefully selecting reaction partners instead of attempting to manipulate reaction conditions.
Her early research was focused on combining metabolic labeling with bioorthogonal chemistry, demonstrating that this approach allowed for targeted interrogations of biological systems. This fundamental advancement sparked a revolution in the manipulation and understanding of biological systems. However, this method often resulted in off-target reactions in cellular environments with ketone and aldehyde groups. In turn, Dr. Bertozzi developed a modified technique that avoided such issues. Now known as copper-free click chemistry, this technology is widely used by researchers worldwide for drug discovery and therapeutic development efforts.
