Innovative faculty make their mark听
As recognition of their pioneering advances in听biotechnology, the (NAI) has welcomed five BioFrontiers faculty to its ranks in the last three years.听Marvin Caruthers and Larry Gold now join their colleagues听Leslie Leinwand (2016), Christopher Bowman (2016), and Kristi Anseth听(2015) in this exclusive club.
These distinguished faculty are recognized not only听for their leadership in forging new frontiers in biosciences, but also for their noteworthy impacts听on quality of life, economic development and听welfare of society. All of these BioFrontiers trailblazers have a prolific spirit of discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship that drives them. Implementing听their inventions in creative ways to solve real-world problems, they have generated dozens of patents and built numerous biotechnology powerhouses that have transformed the landscape听of bioscience research and treatments.
Marvin Caruthers听
Pioneering discoveries in DNA and RNA biochemistry,听Marv Caruthers leveraged his insights to develop automated DNA synthesis techniques. These technologies have made bioscience what it is today, by enabling modern genetic analysis techniques. From DNA sequencing, to genome mapping and everything in between, Marv gave researchers the tools required to understand the genetic material that underlies all life.
With the explosion of genetic research tools, the pace of bioscience advances has accelerated exponentially. By laying the foundation for these technologies, Marv has empowered academic and industry researchers alike to explore the basis of human health and disease. In doing so, his discoveries facilitated innumerable scientific and clinical advances across all fields of medicine. From the Human Genome Project to听next-generation cancer treatments and personalized medicine approaches, Marv鈥檚 work听has a hand in it all. Now, making similar advances in RNA synthesis, he promises to听continue to unravel this new class of biochemical messages that orchestrate biology and disease processes.
As co-founder of听 and Applied Biosystems, Marv has deployed his inventions to听break new ground against bioscience challenges and push the boundaries of biosciences. 鈥淢y career is devoted to developing new approaches for solving important biological problems using synthetic DNA, RNA, and their analogs,鈥� he says. Among the many听honors for his lifetime of achievements, he has received the ,听迟丑别 (NAS) Award for Chemistry in Service to Society, and is听an NAS member.
"My career is devoted to developing new approaches for solving important biological problems听using synthetic DNA, RNA, and听their analogs."听
鈥� Marv Caruthers听
Larry Gold
Larry Gold has called CU Boulder home since the 1970s when he struck out on a career path that has taken him to the frontiers of biotechnology and beyond. At a time when the mysteries of DNA and RNA were just 
beginning to be unraveled, Larry opened the world鈥檚 eyes to whole new dimensions. While the world of these molecules was assumed to be flat, Larry demonstrated that world was in fact round. Discovering that these linear strands folded into complex 3D structures, he exposed biological roles far beyond the genetic messages for which they were known.
With this revelation, Larry and his graduate student Craig Tuerk鈥攚ho Larry says 鈥渄id the work鈥濃�攅nvisioned manipulating and designing these structures, which he called 鈥渁ptamers,鈥� for bioscience purposes. 鈥淲e imagined a future in which RNAs were shapes, not tapes,鈥� says Larry. Turning his dream into a reality, Larry spent the rest of his career developing innovative technologies to shape RNA and DNA into tools for medical discovery. Founding biotechnology companies and , he channeled his academic discoveries into pioneering medical advances that have had widespread impact.
Developing libraries of synthetic 鈥渁ptamers鈥� to bind cellular proteins, Larry generated high-throughput screens for biomarker and drug discovery. These biochips have proven instrumental in studying, diagnosing, and finding treatments for diverse diseases, from cancers to bacterial infections. They have even led to new classes of drugs against untreatable illnesses, including NeXagen鈥檚 own Macugen. A first in treating blindness, Macugen binds to and blocks proteins that cause macular degeneration. Even now, Larry continues to dream up听new directions. 鈥淭he future of aptamers is limited only by our imaginations, as is always the case. Already they are used for proteomics, cell sorting, pathology, affinity purification, and pharmaceuticals. And this听is just the beginning.鈥� he says. To drive further innovations, he has created the , which aims to听solve today鈥檚 healthcare challenges听by leveraging biotechnology advances in inventive ways.
Larry鈥檚 visionary career has earned him an impressive collection of accolades. A member of the , he has also received Merit听and Career Development Awards from听the and the Lifetime Achievement Award and Chiron Prize for Biotechnology from the
"We imagined a future in which RNAs were shapes, not tapes."
鈥� Larry Gold听