Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award: Marc Greenberg

Citation: For significant research contributions toward a mechanistic understanding of DNA damage and repair processes that impact human health.

Current position: professor of chemistry, Johns Hopkins University

Education: B.S., chemistry, New York University; B.E., chemical engineering, Cooper Union School of Engineering; Ph.D., chemistry, Yale ­University

Greenberg on what he hopes to accomplish in the next decade: “In terms of our current research program, I hope to demonstrate that at least some of what we have learned about nucleic acid damage and repair in the test tube occurs in cells, thus providing a more direct link to human health. We are also constantly trying new projects that, if successful, will lead us in entirely new research directions. Ten years from now, I hope to be carrying out research that the community would never have predicted we would be involved in.”

What his colleagues say:“Greenberg is a respected leader in his field. His work is important, scholarly, and a powerful example of how mechanistic organic chemistry impacts human medicine. His contributions reveal information about DNA lesions that can give rise to cancer, and it uncovers pathways of biological response and damage repair that are potential drug targets for cancer therapy.”—Peter B. Dervan, California Institute of Technology