Bio
Professor Carolyn Bertozzi's research interests span the disciplines of chemistry and biology with an emphasis on studies of cell surface sugars important to human health and disease. Her research group profiles changes in cell surface glycosylation associated with cancer, inflammation and bacterial infection, and uses this information to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, most recently in the area of immuno-oncology.
Dr. Bertozzi completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Harvard University and her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, focusing on the chemical synthesis of oligosaccharide analogs. During postdoctoral work at UC San Francisco, she studied the activity of endothelial oligosaccharides in promoting cell adhesion at sites of inflammation. She joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1996. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator since 2000, she came to Stanford University in June 2015, among the first faculty to join the interdisciplinary institute ChEM-H (Chemistry, Engineering & Medicine for Human Health). She is now the Baker Family Director of Stanford ChEM-H.
Named a MacArthur Fellow in 1999, Dr. Bertozzi has received many awards for her dedication to chemistry, and to training a new generation of scientists fluent in both chemistry and biology. She has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and received the Lemelson-MIT Prize, the Heinrich Wieland Prize, the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry, and the Chemistry of the Future Solvay Prize, among others.
The Bertozzi Group develops chemical tools to study the glycobiology underlying diseases such as cancer, inflammation, tuberculosis and most recently COVID-19. She is the inventor of "bioorthogonal chemistry", a class of chemical reactions compatible with living systems that enable molecular imaging and drug targeting. Her group also developed new therapeutic modalities for targeted degradation of extracellular biomolecules, such as antibody-enzyme conjugates and Lysosome Targeting Chimeras (LYTACs). As well, her group studies NGly1 deficiency, a rare genetic disease characterized by loss of the human N-glycanase.
Several of the technologies developed in the Bertozzi lab have been adapted for commercial use. Actively engaged with several biotechnology start-ups, Dr. Bertozzi cofounded Redwood Bioscience, Enable Biosciences, Palleon Pharmaceuticals, InterVenn Bio, OliLux Bio, Grace Science LLC and Lycia Therapeutics. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Lilly.
Academic Appointments
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Professor, Chemistry
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Professor (By courtesy), Chemical and Systems Biology
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Member, Bio-X
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Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
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Faculty Fellow, Stanford ChEM-H
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Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Administrative Appointments
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Baker Family Director, Stanford ChEM-H (2020 - Present)
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Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2000 - Present)
Honors & Awards
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Arthur C. Cope Award, American Chemical Society (2017)
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National Academy of Sciences Award in the Chemical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences (2016)
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Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, U.S. Department of Energy (2015)
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Heinrich Wieland Prize, Heinrich Wieland Prize (2012)
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Lemelson-MIT Prize, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010)
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Ernst Schering Prize, Ernst Schering Research Foundation (2007)
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Distinguished Teaching Award, UC Berkeley College of Chemistry (2001)
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Award in Pure Chemistry, American Chemical Society (2001)
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MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award, MacArthur Foundation (1999)
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Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society (1999)
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Honorary Degree, Freie University Berlin (2014)
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Honorary Doctorate Degree, Duke University (2014)
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Hans Bloemendal Award, Radboud Univ. Nijmegen (2013)
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Honorary Doctorate Degree, Brown University (2012)
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Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award, Executive Board of Editors and the Publisher of Tetrahedron Publications (2011)
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Albert Hofmann Medal, U. Zurich (2009)
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Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section, American Chemical Society (2009)
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W. H. Nichols Award, New York Section, American Chemical Society (2009)
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Li Ka Shing Women in Science Award, Li Ka Shing Foundation Women in Science Program (2008)
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Roy L. Whistler International Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry, International Carbohydrate Organization (2008)
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Willard Gibbs Medal, Chicago Section, American Chemical Society (2008)
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T.Z. and Irmgard Chu Distinguished Professorship in Chemistry, UC Berkeley (2005-14)
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Havinga Medal, U. Leiden (2005)
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Agnes Fay Morgan Research Award, Iota Sigma Pi (2004)
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Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002)
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Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award, Protein Society (2002)
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Donald Sterling Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UC Berkeley College of Chemistry (2001)
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Department of Chemistry Teaching Award, UC Berkeley (2000)
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Merck Academic Development Program Award, Merck (2000)
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Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE), The U.S. White House (2000)
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Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (1999)
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Beckman Young Investigator Award, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation (1998)
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Glaxo Wellcome Scholar, Glaxo Wellcome (1998)
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Prytanean Faculty Award, Prytanean Women's Honor Society, UC Berkeley (1998)
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Research Innovation Award, Research Corporation (1998)
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Young Investigator Award, Office of Naval Research (1998)
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Horace S. Isbell Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry, American Chemical Society (1997)
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New Investigator Award in Pharmacology, Burroughs Wellcome (1997)
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Sloan Research Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1997)
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Pew Scholars Award in the Biomedical Sciences, Pew Charitable Trusts (1996)
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Young Investigator Award, Exxon Education Fund (1996)
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Dreyfus New Faculty Award, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (1995)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Member, National Academy of Inventors (2013 - Present)
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Member, Institute of Medicine (2011 - Present)
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Member, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2008 - Present)
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Member, National Academy of Sciences (2005 - Present)
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Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003 - Present)
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Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Redwood Bioscience
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Board Member, Board of Scientific Counslors, Broad Institutue
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Board Member, Catalent Biologics Board
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Board Member, Research Advisory Baord, Glaxo Smithkline
Professional Education
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Postdoc, UC San Francisco, Immunology
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PhD, UC Berkeley, Chemistry (1993)
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AB, Harvard University, Chemistry (1988)