Photo: Christopher Michel | Wikimedia Commons
A scientific breakthrough in bioorthogonal chemistry, led to Carolyn Bertozzi winning the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Bioorthogonal chemistry refers to performing chemical reactions inside living cells, animals, or humans rather than in traditional lab settings. Carolyn Bertozzi's lab at Stanford employs bioorthogonal chemistry to study sugars on cell surfaces (glycobiology) and their role in shielding cancer from the immune system. This area of biology has been overlooked but has significant implications for cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. She hopes that the field of "glyco-immunology" will improve treatment outcomes for patients who don't respond to existing immunotherapies. As an openly gay person, she recognizes the risks associated with being open about one's identity, but she believes it is important to be a voice for social justice and create opportunities for marginalized individuals, particularly in locations where coming out can still be life-threatening.
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