(Caruthers, Marvin H - 2023) -- Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology
Overview
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Marvin H. Caruthers, distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, has won the inaugural Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology for developing an efficient, automated technology for synthesizing DNA.
The chemical reactions that Caruthers discovered in the early 1980s, which accurately and quickly assemble nucleotides into strands of DNA, provided an essential element in the development of modern molecular medicine, according to the Merkin Prize selection committee. Today, scientists use these reactions to produce customizable DNA and RNA molecules that enable genetic sequencing, drug and vaccine development, pathogen tests, cancer diagnostics, and many aspects of basic biomedical research.
