Professor Jacqueline K. Barton, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA, has been awarded the Priestley Medal, which is the highest honor of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The Priestley Medal is awarded annually in recognition of distinguished service and in commemoration of lifetime achievements in chemistry. It was presented at the 249th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Denver, Colorado, USA, at a special banquet where Jacqueline K. Barton also gave the Priestley Medal Address.
Jacqueline K. Barton is honored for “her work on electron transport in DNA, her dedication to training young investigators, and her unwavering support for the chemistry enterprise”. She is only the third woman to receive the Priestley Medal.
Jacqueline K. Barton, born 1952 in New York, USA, gained her Ph.D. at Columbia University, New York, NY, USA under the supervision of Stephen Lippard (recipient of last year’s Priestley Medal). After postdoctoral work at Bell Laboratories and Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA, with R. G. Shulman, she started her independent career at Columbia University and became full professor there in 1986. In 1989, Barton moved to Caltech and is currently Arthur & Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor and chair of the division of chemistry and chemical engineering.
Barton´s research includes studies of the recognition and reactions of DNA, designing metal complexes as probes of DNA, and exploring how DNA is damaged and repaired using DNA charge transport-chemistry.
She has received numerous awards such as the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry and the national Medal of Science and has served on the board of directors at Dow Chemical since 1993.
Selected publications:
- DNA Charge Transport within the Cell,
M. A. Grodick, N. B. Muren, J. K. Barton,
Biochemistry 2015, 54, 962–973.
DOI: 10.1021/bi501520w - Oxidation of p53 through DNA Charge Transport Involves a Network of Disulfides within the DNA-Binding Domain,
K. N. Schaefer, W. M. Geil, M. J. Sweredoski, A. Moradian, S. Hess, J. K. Barton,
Biochemistry 2015, 54, 932–941.
DOI: 10.1021/bi501424v - Mechanisms for DNA Charge Transport,
Joseph C. Genereux, Jacqueline K. Barton,
Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 1642–1662.
DOI: 10.1021/cr900228f - Conductivity of a single DNA duplex bridging a carbon nanotube gap,
Xuefeng Guo, Alon A. Gorodetsky, James Hone, Jacqueline K. Barton, Colin Nuckolls,
Nature Nanotechnol. 2008, 3, 163–167.
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2008.4 - Metallo-intercalators and metallo-insertors,
Brian M. Zeglis, Valerie C. Pierre, Jacqueline K. Barton,
Chem. Communic. 2007.
DOI: 10.1039/b710949k
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