Kary Mullis

Kary Mullis
Dona Mapston · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Name	Kary Mullis
Birth date	December 28, 1944
Birth place	Lenoir, North Carolina, United States
Death date	August 7, 2019
Death place	Newport Beach, California, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Biochemist, inventor
Known for	Polymerase chain reaction
Awards	Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1993), Japan Prize (1993)

Kary Mullis

Kary Mullis was an American biochemist and inventor best known for developing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a laboratory technique that transformed molecular biology, genetics, and medicine. His work led to widespread applications across biotechnology, forensic science, and clinical diagnostics, and was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Japan Prize. Mullis also held roles in industry and was a controversial public figure because of his views on various scientific and social issues.

Early life and education

Mullis was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, and grew up in regions including California, South Carolina, and Georgia. He attended schools in locales connected to families like the Mullis family and studied chemistry and related subjects at institutions such as Georgia Institute of Technology, ultimately receiving his undergraduate training before enrolling at University of California, Berkeley and later obtaining a PhD from the University of California, San Diego. During his formative years he interacted with mentors and contemporaries associated with institutions like Duke University, Emory University, and research environments influenced by figures linked to National Institutes of Health programs and National Science Foundation initiatives. His early education connected him to regional scientific communities in the southeastern and western United States, including professional networks that involved researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and industrial laboratories such as those at DuPont.

Career and invention of PCR

Mullis worked in industrial and academic settings, including positions at companies such as Cetus Corporation and collaborations with laboratories that engaged with technologies from organizations like Scripps Research Institute and Genentech. While at Cetus, he devised the polymerase chain reaction technique, building on foundational methods from researchers at places such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Harvard University, and Stanford University. The PCR method amplifies specific DNA sequences using oligonucleotides designed according to principles explored by groups at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and other centers where molecular biology pioneers like James Watson, Francis Crick, Frederick Sanger, and Har Gobind Khorana had established precedents. Implementation of PCR involved enzymology knowledge tied to enzymes characterized by investigators at University of Wisconsin–Madison and thermostable polymerases first isolated from extremophiles studied at University of Washington and the University of California, Santa Barbara. After development, PCR spread rapidly through laboratories at National Institutes of Health, forensic labs linked to FBI, clinical facilities at Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, and biotechnology firms including Thermo Fisher Scientific and Roche Diagnostics.

Scientific contributions and awards

Mullis's invention earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993, an honor shared with contemporaries recognized by awarding bodies such as the Royal Society and the Japan Prize Foundation, which also presented the Japan Prize. His work influenced research at institutions like Johns Hopkins University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Max Planck Society, and national programs at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization. The PCR technique became foundational in projects including Human Genome Project, pathogen surveillance used in outbreaks studied by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teams, and applications in legal contexts exemplified by cases handled by the Supreme Court of the United States and criminal laboratories overseen by the FBI Laboratory. Recognition of Mullis’s impact extended through citations across journals such as Nature, Science (journal), Cell (journal), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and contributions referenced by researchers at Broad Institute, Salk Institute, and clinical research centers affiliated with Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Controversies and public views

Mullis expressed heterodox views on topics that generated controversy, engaging publicly with figures and institutions such as AIDS denialism proponents, commentators associated with Rolling Stone and The New York Times, and media outlets including 60 Minutes and Scientific American. He questioned mainstream interpretations about HIV/AIDS that conflicted with positions held by Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health and researchers at Pasteur Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mullis also wrote and spoke about subjects ranging from astrology and consciousness debated in forums with contributors from TED Conferences and Skeptics Society to critiques of genetically modified organisms discussed alongside representatives from Greenpeace and industry groups like Monsanto. His public statements prompted responses from scientists at Harvard Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, University College London, and ethicists linked to American Association for the Advancement of Science, eliciting debate in outlets such as Nature Medicine and The Lancet.

Personal life and death

Mullis lived in locations including Berkshire County, Massachusetts for periods and later resided in coastal Southern California near communities in Orange County, California and Newport Beach, where he died on August 7, 2019. His personal life intersected with cultural and scientific figures, and he authored essays and memoir-style pieces that appeared in magazines connected to publishers like HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. He maintained ties with prior employers and collaborators at companies such as Cetus Corporation and institutions such as Scripps Research Institute, and his legacy continues to be discussed by researchers at universities including Stanford University School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and policy analysts at organizations like National Academy of Sciences.

Category:1944 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American biochemists Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry