Background
Boyer, Herbert Wayne was born on July 10, 1936 in Pittsburgh.
biochemist Biotechnology company executive
Boyer, Herbert Wayne was born on July 10, 1936 in Pittsburgh.
Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry, St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 1958. Doctor of Science (honorary) (honorary), St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 1981. Master of Science, University Pittsburgh, 1960.
Doctor of Philosophy, University Pittsburgh, 1963.
Along with Stanley North. Cohen and Paul Berg he discovered a method to coax bacteria into producing foreign proteins, thereby jump starting the field of genetic engineering. He served as Vice President of Genentech from 1976 until his retirement in 1991. He received his bachelor"s degree in biology and chemistry from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1958.
He spent three years in post-graduate work at Yale University in the laboratories of Professors Edward Adelberg and Bruce Carlton, then became an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco and a Professor of Biochemistry from 1976 to 1991, where he discovered that genes from bacteria could be combined with genes from eukaryotes.
In 1977, Boyer"s laboratory and collaborators Keiichi Itakura and Arthur Riggs at City of Hope National Medical Center described the first-ever synthesis and expression of a peptide-coding gene. In August 1978, he produced synthetic insulin using his new transgenic genetically modified bacteria, followed in 1979 by a growth hormone.
In 1976, Boyer founded Genentech with venture capitalist Robert A. Boyer built his gene from its individual nucleotides. The Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine was named after the Boyer family in 1991.
At the Class of 2007 Commencement, Saint Vincent College announced that they had renamed the School of Natural Science, Mathematics, and Computing the Boyer School.
Among his professional activities, Boyer is on the Board of Scientific Governors of the Scripps Research Institute.
Former trustee Scripps Research Institute. Fellow: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy Arts and Sciences. Member: National Academy of Sciences, American Society Biological Chemists.
Married Grace Boyer, 1959.