New England Biolabs® Announces the 2025 Donald G. Comb Memorial Lectureship Recipient

IPSWICH, Mass., March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Named in honor of the founder and first Chief Executive Officer of New England Biolabs (NEB^®), Donald Comb, this annual lectureship honors those who have pioneered basic research, with substantial impact on molecular biology, to address issues affecting the world at large.

This year's honoree is Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, Professor at Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and 2022 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry. Dr. Bertozzi's research spans the disciplines of chemistry and biology with a focus on cell surface sugars (termed glycans) and their implications in health and human disease. Dr. Bertozzi was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her use of click chemistry in the study of living cells. A pioneer in setting-up chemical reactions that can take place within living systems without disrupting natural biochemical processes, Dr. Bertozzi coined the term "bioorthogonal chemistry". Her research group has used this groundbreaking approach to significantly advance the field of glycobiology and to better understand how it impacts underlying diseases, such as cancer, inflammation and bacterial infection. Her innovative work has been used to inform new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Finally, Dr. Bertozzi is a prolific member of the industrial biotechnology community, having co-founded numerous companies to translate her basic science discoveries beyond the lab bench.

Dr. Bertozzi has received numerous awards and has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, she has 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.

"We are honored to have Dr. Bertozzi as our recipient of the Donald G. Comb Memorial Lectureship," said Thomas C. Evans, Jr., Ph.D. and Executive Director of Research. "Her work in the areas of glycobiology and disease has led to significant advancements in the field, and truly embodies NEB's core values of collaboration, scientific mentorship and rigorous scientific work."

The Donald G. Comb Memorial Lectureship will take place at NEB Headquarters in Ipswich, MA, on Thursday March 27^th, 2025.

In 1974 NEB was founded as a cooperative of scientists, with the aim of developing research tools to accelerate basic science, while using the profits to fund its own basic research program. Over fifty years later, basic research remains a priority, with over 30 laboratories working in areas, including enzyme analysis and engineering, epigenetics, RNA biology and parasitology. To learn more about NEB's research program, visit www.neb.com/research. 

About New England Biolabs
For over 50 years, New England Biolabs (NEB) has pioneered the discovery and production of innovative products tailored for molecular biology research. Our commitment to scientific discovery is evident in all that we do, including our ever-expanding product portfolio, investment in our basic and applied research program, and support of customers' research in academia and industry, including cutting-edge technologies for use in molecular diagnostics and nucleic-acid vaccines development. Guided by our founding principles, NEB proactively invests in efforts to improve the well-being of our employees, surrounding communities, as well as the future of our planet. NEB remains a privately held company with global reach, supported by our headquarters in Ipswich, MA, USA, subsidiary offices in 10 countries, and over 60 distribution partners around the world. For more information about New England Biolabs, visit www.neb.com.

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SOURCE New England Biolabs, Inc.