Jay Keasling

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Jay D. Keasling (2011)

Jay D. Keasling (* 1964 ) is Professor of Chemistry and Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley . He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1991 , where he also completed his master's degree. He is also director of physical life sciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and founder of the synthetic biology department at UC Berkeley. He is regarded as one of the leading scientists in the field of synthetic biology , especially metabolic engineering . Other research areas include systems biology and environmental biotechnology .

Among other things, Keasling is working on modifying the Escherichia coli bacterium so that it produces the anti-malarial drug artemisinin . This is naturally obtained from the Artemisia annua plant and, while very effective in treating malaria, is very expensive and not available in sufficient quantities. By using bacteria instead of plants to produce the drug, Keasling tries to reduce the cost per dose from $ 2.40 to $ 0.25.

In 2004, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a total of $ 42.5 million to the lab of Jay Keasling, Amyris Biotechnologies, and the Institute for OneWorld Health to develop, manufacture, and distribute the cheap drug artemisinin.

In 2006, Keasling was named "Scientist of the Year" by the American magazine Discover . In 2012 he received a Heinz Award . In 2016, Keasling was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

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  1. ↑ Science @ Berkeley May 30, 2006 Article: An Age-Old Microbe May Hold the Key to Curing an Age-Old Affliction
  2. ^ Gates foundation to promote synthetic biology
  3. ↑ Discover Magazine: Scientist of the Year: Jay Keasling , November 22, 2006.
  4. ^ American Academy of Arts and Sciences : Newly Elected Fellows. In: amacad.org. Retrieved April 22, 2016 .

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personal data
SURNAME Keasling, Jay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keasling, Jay D.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American biochemist
DATE OF BIRTH 1964