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For anybody familiar with biological instrumentation, Leroy E. Hood's receiving the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize--a $500,000 annual award honoring inventors--should come as no surprise. Hood's list of inventions includes the protein sequencer, the protein synthesizer, the DNA sequencer, and the DNA synthesizer. Hood ISB PHOTO Currently the president and cofounder of the Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, Hood has focused on technology throughout his career. "When I went to Caltech in 1970, I decided to spend half my time working on technology development and the other half on biology and molecular immunology," he says. Hood learned the importance of technology from his doctoral thesis adviser, William J. Dreyer. "He left me with two interesting ideas," Hood says. "One, if you really want to practice science or biology, always practice at the leading edge. And two, if you really want to change a field in biology, invent a new technology that opens up hidden horizons." Hood believes that the DNA sequencer was the most challenging of his inventions and has also had the most impact. It required integrating biology with chemistry, engineering, and computer science. "It certainly is the instrument that made possible the Human Genome Project," he says. Hood has already put the prize money into a foundation that he and his wife started to fund projects in the environment, education, and science. |
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