The inventor of the field of biorthogonal chemistry.
Dr. Carolyn R. Bertozzi is an American chemist who earned her Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Berkeley in 1993. After earning her doctorate, she worked for both UC Berkeley and HHMI, where she founded the field of biorthogonal chemistry. Bertozzi has performed research on the glycobiology of diseases like cancer, tuberculosis and COVID-19. She has also founded several biotechnology startups dedicated to implementing biorthogonal chemistry to specialized fields. Bertozzi went on to receive the MacArthur genius award and in 2010, became the first woman to receive the Lemelson-MIT Prize faculty award. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors.