Drs. Frances H. Arnold and Donald Hilvert, both longtime advocates for advancing the frontiers of science and current members of GRC’s Executive Committee of the Board, will be featured as Keynote Speakers at this GRC Connects titled "Innovation by Evolution." This free event is open to all members of the scientific community and scientists of all career-stages are encouraged to attend. Dr. Sabine Flitsch, University of Manchester, will moderate the discussion.
Dr. Arnold, Linus Pauling Professor at the California Institute of Technology, Nobel Prize Laureate and recently appointed co-chair to President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, will present a scientific talk titled, “Bringing New Chemistry to Life”.
Dr. Hilvert, Professor at ETH Zurich, awardee of many prestigious honors, including the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry and the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Bioorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, will present a scientific talk titled, “Making New Enzymes from Scratch”.
Please join us for an engaging and informative presentation followed by a Q&A period with these renowned scientists. We look forward to seeing you at the frontiers of science!
About the Speakers
Frances H. Arnold, PhD is the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. After completing her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in 1985, she carried out postdoctoral work in Biophysical Chemistry in the laboratory of Dr. Ignacio Tinoco. She joined the Caltech faculty in 1987. Her research is in protein design and engineering and she is best known for her pioneering work in directed enzyme evolution. Arnold’s laboratory has pursued a fundamental understanding of protein evolution as well as applications that include therapeutic proteins, sensors for brain imaging, biocatalysts for chemical synthesis, and catalysts for alternative energy. She has more than 200 refereed publications and more than 30 issued patents. Frances serves on the Advisory Board for the Packard Foundation’s Fellows Program and the President’s Advisory Council for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Her many awards and honors include a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018. GRC Cruickshank Lecturer in 2005. Arnold is the first woman to have been elected to all three US National Academies: the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Science. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received the 2011 Charles Stark Draper Prize of the National Academy of Engineering. Arnold was recently appointed by President Biden to Co-Chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Donald Hilvert, PhD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Hilvert obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University. Following postdoctoral work at Rockefeller University, Hilvert joined the faculty of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California in 1986. Since October 1997, Hilvert has been Professor in the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the ETH Zurich. Hilvert's research program focuses on understanding how enzymes work and evolve and on mimicking the properties of these remarkable catalysts through design. Hilvert's work has been recognized by a number of awards, including the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society, the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, the Protein Society Emil Thomas Kaiser Award, and the Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry. Hilvert is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has also received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University.
About the Moderator
Sabine Flitsch is Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research interests are in biocatalysis, with a focus on designing enzymes cascades and applications in the glycosciences. She is currently associate editor of JACS Au, an open-access journal just launched by the American Chemical Society.
GRC Connects is an initiative of the Gordon Research Conferences that provides opportunities for GRC communities to connect and collaborate until we resume in-person meetings, furthering GRC's commitment to find new and creative ways to advance the frontiers of science.
