CME INDIA Presentation by ⚜ Dr. M. Gowri Sankar, MD, Senior Assistant Professor, Dept. of General Medicine, Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore.
Today’s History Feature:
Dr. Kary Mullis
(Dec 28, 1944 – Aug 7, 2019)
💠American Biochemist
💠Inventor of the Polymerase Chain Reaction
His contributions…
🔹Mullis was born in North Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was actually raised from a humble farming family in a rural area.
🔹After his schooling, he chose to study Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1966 and then he did his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1973.
🔹Subsequent to his graduation, Dr. Mullis has done his Postdoctoral Fellow in Pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical School and also Postdoctoral Fellow in Pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.
🔹Then, he got appointed as a DNA chemist in the Biotechnology company called Cetus Corporation of Emeryville, California, where he began his groundbreaking research.
🔹In fact, the earlier Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Har Gobind Khorana and Dr. Kjell Kleppe had authored a paper describing a process they termed “Repair Replication” in the Journal of Molecular Biology. By using repair replication, they duplicated and then quadrupled a small synthetic molecule with the help of two primers and DNA-polymerase.
🔹Based on this method, Dr. Mullis developed a method of amplifying DNA by multiplying a single, microscopic strand of the genetic material into billions of copies within hours. Thereby, he invented the process known as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in 1985.
🔹Consequently, he was honoured with the most prestigious award – Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for his invention of the PCR method.
🔹The PCR invention by Dr. Mullis became significant in the areas of medicine, biochemistry, biotechnology, forensic and molecular biology. Moreover, it has virtually divided biology into the two epochs – before PCR and after PCR.
A Day to Commemorate…
The Inventor of Monumental Scientific Techniques of 20th Century
Dr. Kary Mullis🙏🏼
Discover CME INDIA
- Explore CME INDIA Repository
- Examine CME INDIA Case Study
- Read History Today in Medicine
- Register for Future CMEs
Kary Mullis shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith for invitations of polymerse chain reaction
Awards and honors kary Mullis received
edit
1990: William Allan Memorial Award of the American Society of Human Genetics,[62] Preis Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and Boehringer Mannheim[63]
1991: National Biotechnology Award,[64] Gairdner Award,[64] R&D Scientist of the Year,[64] John Scott Award of the City Trusts of Philadelphia[65]
1992: California Scientist of the Year Award[64]
1992: Robert Koch Prize[66]
1993: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Japan Prize,[1] Thomas A. Edison Award[64]
1994: Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of South Carolina[26]
1994: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement[67]
1998: Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame,[68] Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award[69]
2004: Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy[70]
2010: Honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of biological sciences from Masaryk University, Czech Republic[71]
Kary Mullis shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith for invitations of polymerase chain reaction
Awards and honors kary Mullis received
edit
1990: William Allan Memorial Award of the American Society of Human Genetics,
** Preis Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and Boehringer Mannheim1991:
*** National Biotechnology Award,
****Gairdner Award R&D Scientist of the Year,
***** John Scott Award of the City Trusts of Philadelphia1992:
******California Scientist of the Year Award1992:
******* Robert Koch Prize
*******1993: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Japan Prize,[1]
********* Thomas A. Edison Award
1994: Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of South Carolina
1994: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
1998: Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame,
Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award
2004: Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy
2010: Honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of biological sciences from Masary k University, Czech Republic