- Richard Lerner
Infobox Scientist
name = Richard Alan Lerner
birth_date = birth date and age|1938|08|26|df=yes
birth_place = [Chicago, IL.|USA]
nationality = USA
field =Chemistry
work_institutions =The Scripps Research Institute Wistar Institute
alma_mater =Stanford Medical School
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for =
influences =
influenced =
prizes =Wolf Prize in Chemistry
footnotes =Richard A. Lerner (b.
28 August ,1938 ) is an American researchchemist andentrepreneur . Best known for his work on convertingantibodies intoenzymes , Lerner is currently President and Chief Executive Officer ofThe Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), and a member of its Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, inLa Jolla, California .Biography
Lerner grew up in
Chicago and excelled at chemistry and wrestling as a schoolboy.Sydney Freedberg. Scientist Tycoon. "St. Petersburg Times", 17 June, 2007] After attendingNorthwestern University as an undergraduate, Lerner obtained an MD fromStanford Medical School in 1964 then undertook postdoctoral training at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, an early incarnation of the institute he would eventually lead. In the 1970s Lerner carried out research at theWistar Institute in Philadelphia then returned to La Jolla to the, now renamed, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic. In 1982 he was appointed chairman of the Department ofMolecular Biology , then five years later assumed the directorship. In 1991, when the TSRI was established as anonprofit entity, Lerner became its first president.In addition to his research into
catalytic antibodies, providing a method of catalyzing chemical reactions thought impossible using classical techniques, Lerner has led extensive studies intoprotein structure , [Wilson IA, Niman HL, Houghten RA, Cherenson AR, Connolly ML, Lerner RA. The structure of an antigenic determinant in a protein. "Cell". 1984 37(3):767-78. PMID 6204768] characterised "cis-9,10-octadecenoamide", a novellipid hormone that induces sleep, [ Cravatt BF, Prospero-Garcia O, Siuzdak G, Gilula NB, Henriksen SJ, Boger DL, Lerner RA. Chemical characterization of a family of brain lipids that induce sleep. "Science". 1995 268(5216):1506-9. PMID 7770779] and provided the first evidence of a role forozone in human disease. [ Wentworth P Jr, Nieva J, Takeuchi C, Galve R, Wentworth AD, Dilley RB, DeLaria GA, Saven A, Babior BM, Janda KD, Eschenmoser A, Lerner RA. Evidence for ozone formation in human atherosclerotic arteries. "Science". 2003 302(5647):1053-6. PMID 14605372] As of 2007, Lerner'srésumé listed 67patent s and 403 published scientific papers.In addition to his role as TSRI president , Lerner is the Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Immunochemistry and Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Chair in Chemistry. He has been the recipient of over 29 honors and prizes. These include the
Parke-Davis Award in 1978, theSan Marino Prize in 1990, theWolf Prize in Chemistry for 1994 (withPeter Schultz ), the California Scientist of the Year Award in 1996 and theUniversity of California Presidential Medal in 2002. He has also been elected to theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences and theUnited States National Academy of Sciences . In 2007 he was awarded anhonorary degree from theUniversity of Oxford , to add to those he received fromTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology in 2001,Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2003 andFlorida Atlantic University in 2004. [ [http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/sri-srp062007.php Scripps Research President Lerner receives Oxford Honorary Degree] . The Scripps Research Institute Press Release,20 June ,2007 .]Under Lerner's leadership, The Scripps Research Institute has grown threefold in terms of laboratory space and more than quadrupled its staff levels, making it among the largest nonprofit biomedical research organizations in the world. He also oversaw the establishment of a sister research campus, called Scripps
Florida , inPalm Beach County . Lerner has announced that he will leave his position as President and CEO of TSRI in 2009 to assume Chairmanship of itsBoard of Trustees for a two further years. In 2011 he intends to "return to full-time research in [his] laboratory." [ [http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/021306.html The Scripps Research Institute Begins Presidential Succession Process] . The Scripps Research Institute Press Release,February 13 ,2006 .]In 2005 Lerner's TSRI salary was US$1,212,071, placing among the top ten percent of nonprofit executives in the USA. Lerner also serves on the boards of six for-profit and nonprofit companies, including
Kraft Foods , advises four other companies and twoventure capital funds . He has declined to reveal the sum of his earnings, but acknowledged he earned $8.5 million for his part in the discovery ofHumira .Lerner's entrepreneurial activities have drawn criticism. A consumer advocacy organization,
Public Citizen , claimed it constitutes "a conflict of interest" while acknowledging there is "nothing illegal" in his multiple activities.Donald Kennedy described Lerner's numerous commitments as "unusually rich array... But if he can manage them fairly, then I can't make a particular criticism of it." Lerner's contract with TSRI stipulates he spends no more than 10% of his time on outside activities, however, and he says the actual amount is "far less." Lerner has also published a novel called "Epidemic 9" (ISBN 068803585X) about, according to the "St. Petersburg Times ", "a young scientific investigator who swears off wealth and status in favor of public service work".Lerner married Nicola Green Lerner, a physician, in 1981. They have two Labrador retrievers. He has three adult children by a previous marriage with Dr. Diana Pickett; Danica, Edward,and Arik. He splits his time between homes in La Jolla, California and
Jupiter Island, Florida .References
External links
* [http://www.scripps.edu/intro/lerner_CV.html Richard Alan Lerner, Curriculum Vitae]
* [http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20020429/updates.html/ Richard Lerner named "Scientist of the Year"] by the The Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation
* [http://www.scripps.edu/ The Scripps Research Institute]
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