Sir Richard Roberts Elected to National Academy of Sciences

New England Biolabs (NEB®) has announced that Sir Richard Roberts, Nobel Prize winner and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at NEB, has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a private, nonprofit society of distinguished scientific scholars committed to furthering science and scientific research in the USA. Scientists elected to NAS are selected by their peers based on their exceptional contributions in research.

“I’ve been very fortunate to witness my research contribute to our evolving understanding of the life sciences over the course of my career,” said Sir Richard Roberts. “I continue to be humbled and motivated by the impact scientists can have – particularly when we work collectively and choose to help others.”

Roberts was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1993 for his contribution to the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA and the mechanism of gene splicing, which allows a gene to code for multiple proteins. Roberts was also instrumental in isolating most of the world’s first known restriction enzymes. He served as a consultant and chairman of NEB’s scientific advisory board from 1975 and joined the company as CSO in 1992.

“We’re proud to see Rich recognized for his profound impact on the study and applications of molecular biology, and we’re thankful for the integral role he has played at the company as a visionary scientist, leader and mentor,” said Salvatore Russello, NEB’s CEO. “NEB’s investment in basic research ensures we stay connected to our customers and drives scientific breakthroughs. Rich has been instrumental in the success of our program.”

At NEB, Roberts works alongside Tom Evans, NEB’s Executive Director of Research, to guide the company’s research program. Roberts’ current research focus is on using bioinformatics to drive enzyme discovery, combined with the experimental testing of enzyme function. Collectively, NEB scientists have authored over 1,450 publications to date, on topics that include understanding DNA enzyme structure and function, protein expression and modification, chemical biology, parasitology, and genome and RNA biology.