Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen

One of the most famous collaborations in biology began late one night in a deli in Waikiki. In November 1992, Herbert Boyer (1936-) and Stanley Cohen (1935- ) went to Hawaii to attend a conference. Boyer, a biochemist and genetic engineer, worked at the University of California in San Francisco. Originally from Pennsylvania, Boyer had a PhD in bacteriology from the University of Pittsburgh. He was an expert in restriction enzymes, bacterial proteins that cut DNA. Cohen, a physician and genetic engineer, was a professor at Stanford University. Like Boyer, Cohen had grown up on the east coast. He was born in New Jersey and had graduated from medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. By the 1970s, both men had moved to the west coast and now lived and worked less than 50 miles apart. But it wasn’t until they met in Hawaii that they realized how much they had in common.

Boyer and Cohen had gone to the conference to give talks about their research and pick up tips on bacterial plasmids. These tiny pieces of DNA carry a few genes and are often transferred naturally between bacteria. Though they seemed like promising material for genetic research, plasmids weren’t easy to work with. However, Cohen had found an efficient way to collect plasmids and introduce them into other bacteria. And Boyer had discovered that some restriction enzymes leave overlapping "sticky ends" which can be used to join two pieces of DNA. Late one night, Boyer and Cohen went for a snack and talked about their research. They realized that Boyer’s restriction enzymes could be used to put specific genes into Cohen’s plasmids. In turn, Cohen’s plasmids could carry the gene into a bacterial cell. Boyer and Cohen decided to try this exciting new possibility by transferring genes between two bacteria. Within four months, they had created the first recombinant organism – a living creature that had been manipulated to carry and express foreign DNA.

The new technology revolutionized biotechnology. Geneticists soon began to transfer a wide variety of genes, including genes from plants and animals, into bacteria. At first, scientists – including Boyer and Cohen – feared that some applications of the technique might create new biological hazards. In 1975, a group met at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California to set up guidelines for the use of recombinant technology. Though these rules have been relaxed over the years, a version still guides the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today. The technology itself turned out to have amazing potential. These days, Boyer and Cohen’s procedure is used routinely to generate bacterial factories that manufacture human insulin for diabetics, clot-dissolving drugs for stroke and heart attack patients, and countless other drugs for industry, research and medicine. Boyer and Cohen have shared numerous awards and honors, including the National Medal of Science and the Lemelson-MIT prize for Invention and Innovation. Boyer also helped found the biotechnology giant Genentech, one of the first companies to capitalize on the new technology.

Access Excellence. Herbert W. Boyer. Available at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AB/WYW/boyer/boyer.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

Access Excellence. Stanley N. Cohen. Available at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AB/WYW/cohen/cohen.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

Genentech Inc. 2000. About Genentech. Available at: http://www.gene.com/about_genentech/history/founders.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

Technology Review July/August 2000. The birth of biotech. Available at: http://www.techreview.com/articles/july00/trail_edge.htm Accessed September 22, 2000.

The Lemelson-MIT Award Program’s Invention Dimension. 1997. Cloning of genetically engineered molecules. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/boyercohen.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

The Lemelson-MIT Award Program’s Invention Dimension. Dr. Herbert W. Boyer. Co-recipient, 1996 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/org/i/invent/www/bios.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

The Lemelson-MIT Award Program’s Invention Dimension. Dr. Stanley M. Cohen. Co-recipient, 1996 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/org/i/invent/www/bios.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

The Stanford Daily. Wednesday, November 10, 1999. The top 5 people of the century – Cohen: DNA genius on the farm. Available at: http://daily.stanford.org/daily99%2D00/11%2D10%2D1999/news/NEWcohen10.html Accessed September 22, 2000.

University of California, Berkeley. 2000. Biotechnology at 25: the founders. Available at: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/Exhibits/Biotech/25.htmls Accessed September 22, 2000.

Wiegand, Susan. Access Excellence. Herbert Boyer (1936-). Available at: http://accessexcellence.org/AB/BC/Herbert_Boyer.html. Accessed September 22, 2000.