Peter Schultz wins Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry
August 06, 2019
LA JOLLA, CA – Scripps Research President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Schultz, PhD, has won the 2019 Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry.
The Tetrahedron Prize is presented annually to a chemist who has made significant original contributions to the fields of organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry or both. Established in 1980 by Elsevier, which publishes the Tetrahedron journal series, the prize includes a gold medal, a certificate and a monetary award of $15,000.
“I am quite honored to be a recipient of the Tetrahedron Prize,” Schultz says. “It is also a testament to the talent and commitment of the many postdocs, graduate students and collaborators who participated in the research that this award recognizes.”
In announcing the award, Elsevier noted that Schultz has advanced chemical biology and drug discovery in many important ways, including through his development of new methods to expand the genetic code of living organisms. Schultz also discovered catalytic antibodies and has forged new molecular diversity technologies to address problems in chemistry, biology and medicine.
In addition, Schultz has founded nine companies that have pioneered technologies to challenges in human health, energy and materials. In 1999, he created the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, serving as its director for more than 10 years. In 2012, he established Calibr, a nonprofit biomedical research institute designed as a new model to accelerate the discovery of medicines for unmet needs. Calibr is now a critical component of Scripps Research, propelling key early-stage discoveries into clinical development.
Additionally, Schultz has trained over 300 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom are on the faculties of major research institutions around the world. He joined Scripps Research in 1999 and was appointed its CEO in 2015.
The Tetrahedron Prize honors the memory of organic chemists and Nobel Prize winners Sir Robert Robinson and Robert Burns Woodward, who served as the founding co-chairmen of the Tetrahedron journals.
For more information, contact press@scripps.edu