Paul Lawrence Modrich (born June 13, 1946) is an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, James B. Duke Professor of

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is known for his research on DNA mismatch repair. Modrich received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015, jointly with Aziz Sancar and Tomas Lindahl.

Early life and education

Modrich was born on June 13, 1946, in

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico, United States. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Col ...

to Laurence Modrich and Margaret McTurk. He has a younger brother Dave. His father was a biology teacher and coach for basketball, football and tennis at Raton High School where he graduated in 1964. Modrich is of Croatian, Montenegrin, German and Scottish (Gaelic) origin. His paternal grandfather, of Croatian descent, is probably from the small village of Modrići near Zadar, and grandmother of Montenegrin descent, both immigrated to the United States from coastal

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the late 19th century. His maternal family is of mixed German and Scotch-Irish descent. Modrich married fellow scientist Vickers Burdett in 1980. Modrich obtained a B.S. degree from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1968 and subsequently a Ph.D. degree from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1973. He continued his research as a postdoc in the lab of Charles C. Richardson at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

for a year (1973–1974).

Research

Modrich became an assistant professor at the chemistry department of

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1974. He joined Duke University's faculty in 1976 and has been a Howard Hughes Investigator since 1995. He works primarily on strand-directed mismatch repair. His lab demonstrated how DNA mismatch repair serves as a copyeditor to prevent errors from

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

polymerase. Matthew Meselson previously proposed the existence of recognition of mismatches. Modrich performed biochemical experiments to study mismatch repair in ''E. coli''. They later searched for proteins associated with mismatch repair in humans.

Honors and awards

Honors and awards received by Modrich include: *1983: Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry *1996: General Motors Charles S. Mott Prize in Cancer Research *1998: Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award for cancer research *2000 Feodor Lynen Medal *2005: American Cancer Society Medal of Honor *2015: Nobel Prize in Chemistry *2016: Arthur Kornberg and Paul Berg Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences Modrich is a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Modrich, Paul L. 1946 births Nobel laureates in Chemistry Duke University faculty American people of Croatian descent American people of Montenegrin descent American people of German descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent Stanford University alumni American Nobel laureates American biochemists Howard Hughes Medical Investigators Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Raton, New Mexico Articles containing video clips Members of the National Academy of Medicine