BIOCHEMISTRY

Boyer Award for Postdoctoral Excellence in Biochemistry Lecture Series

Paul Delos Boyer is a native of Provo, Utah where he graduated from Brigham Young University in 1939.

He was a graduate student in the UW-Madison Biochemistry Department with Professor Paul Phillips and finished his Ph.D. in 1943. After 17 years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, he moved to UCLA where in 1965 he became founding Director of UCLA's Molecular Biology Institute.

As a graduate student he discovered the role of potassium as a cofactor for pyruvate kinase. This was the first evidence for an alkaline metal cation participating in enzyme catalysis. He continued studying enzymes throughout his career and served as editor of the multi-volume treatise "The Enzymes". Paul is best known for revealing the binding change mechanism for ATP synthase involving a novel rotational catalysis.

Dr. Boyer's achievements have been recognized in many awards: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1997; Rose Award, American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; American Chemical Society Award in Enzyme Chemistry; Honorary Doctorates - Stockholm, 1974; University of Minnesota, 1996; University of Wisconsin, 1998. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Despite all the professional responsibilities Paul and his wife Lyda find time for tennis, biking, golf, and building homes. They have supervised construction and furnishing of three, giving Paul an outlet for his carpentry skills. Paul passed away June 2, 2018. To read a memorial resolution on Boyer, click here. 

This award recognizes a postdoctoral researcher for his or her excellence in research, and highlights postdoctoral scientists with promise. The award is made possible by Paul D. Boyer, who earned a master’s in 1941 and Ph.D. in 1943.  See our other Department of Biochemistry Awards.