Eric Kool, Ph.D

Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University

Speaker

Eric Kool received his PhD in organic chemistry at Columbia University, and was trained in chemical biology of DNA as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. He began his career at the University of Rochester, and joined the faculty at the Stanford Chemistry Department in 1999, where he is now the George and Hilda Daubert Professor. His research interests lie in the overlap between organic chemistry, biophysics, and chemical biology of nucleic acids. Notable research contributions from his lab include the discovery that Watson-Crick hydrogen bonding is not necessary for DNA replication; the development of designer DNA and RNA bases that function in living systems; the development of rolling circle amplification (RCA), a widely used isothermal amplification method; and the development of numerous reagents and strategies for probing and modifying RNA.

In recognition of his work, Kool has received the American Chemical Society Pfizer Award, the Cope Scholar Award, the ACS Ronald Breslow Award, the Murray Goodman Memorial Prize, and he has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He is an inventor on over 50 patents granted or pending, and his inventions have served as founding technologies for five biotechnology companies. A popular teacher at Stanford, he has twice been awarded the Humanities & Sciences Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.