Scientist Profile : Herbert Boyer

Herbert Boyer

Hans Spemann
Walter Sutton
Oswald Avery
Francis Crick
James Watson
Paul Berg
Stanley Cohen
Herbert Boyer
Kary B. Mullis
Steen Willadsen
Ian Wilmut
Keith Campbell
Richard Seed

American biochemist who pioneered the development of recombinant DNA organisms with Stanley Cohen in 1973 and later became a co-founder of Gerentech, one of the first biotechnology corporations.

Boyer, born in Pennsylvania, entered the pre-med program at St. Vincent's College in Pennsylvania, but graduated with degrees in biology and chemistry. He conducted his postgraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh and at Yale, and in 1966 landed an assistant professorship position at the University of California San Francisco.

At the University of California San Francisco, Boyer studied restriction enzymes found in the bacteria E. Coli that sliced DNA in a way the ends could be attached back together. In 1973, Boyer teamed up with Stanley Cohen of Stanford University to produce the world's first recombinant DNA organism, and with their accomplishment, set the foundation for modern biotechnology.

In 1976, Boyer and Robert Swanson founded Gerentech, one of the first major biotechnology corporations specializing in producing commercial organisms using recombinant DNA technology. In 1978, Gerentech was successful in synthesizing human insulin.

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