Paul Berg

Paul Berg was a distinguished professor in Biology at Stanford University, renowned for his pioneering contributions to biochemistry and molecular biology. Born on June 30, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, he earned a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in 1948 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1952. After postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute of Cytophysiology in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, Berg served as Assistant to Associate Professor of Microbiology at Washington University from 1955 to 1959. In 1959, he joined Stanford University School of Medicine to help Arthur Kornberg and others establish the Department of Biochemistry, where he progressed from Associate Professor to Professor, serving as Department Chair from 1969 to 1974. He held the Sam, Lulu and Jack Willson Professorship from 1970 to 1994 and the Vivian K. and Robert W. Cahill Professorship in Cancer Research from 1994 to 2000. As Director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine from 1985 to 2000, Berg raised over $50 million for its construction, fostering integration of basic, clinical, and applied sciences. He chaired the National Advisory Committee for the Human Genome Project and served on advisory boards for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. Berg was President of the American Society of Biological Chemists in 1975 and delivered the 2018 Stanford School of Medicine commencement address. He established the Berg Scholars Program to train physician-scientists.

Berg's research focused on nucleic acid biochemistry, culminating in the creation of the first recombinant DNA molecule in 1972 by inserting E. coli DNA into SV40 virus, as detailed in his Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper. This work earned him the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. He led a voluntary moratorium on certain genetic engineering experiments and organized the 1975 Asilomar Conference, establishing NIH guidelines for recombinant DNA research. Other honors include the National Medal of Science (1983), Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (1980), Eli Lilly Award in Biochemistry (1959), and election to the National Academy of Sciences (1966), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1966), and foreign membership in the Royal Society (1992). Key publications encompass 'Personal Reflections on the Origins and Emergence of Recombinant DNA Technology' (2010, Genetics), 'Biotechnology. A prudent path forward for genomic engineering and germline gene modification' (2015, Science), and 'Moments of Discovery: My Favorite Experiments' (2003, Journal of Biological Chemistry). Berg advocated for scientific freedom, ethical oversight, and public engagement with science policy. He passed away on February 15, 2023, at age 96 on the Stanford campus.

Professional Email: pberg@stanford.edu