Kurt Wuthrich

Kurt Wüthrich is currently Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla , CA, USA and Professor of Biophysics at the ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. His research interests are in molecular structural biology, and in structural genomics. His specialty is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with biological macromolecules, where he contributed the NMR method of three-dimensional structure determination of proteins and nucleic acids in solution. The Wüthrich groups have solved more than 70 NMR structures of proteins and nucleic acids, including the immunosuppression system cyclophilin A−cyclosporin A, the homeodomain−operator DNA transcriptional regulatory system, and prion proteins from a variety of species.

Kurt Wüthrich was born in Switzerland on October 4, 1938, is married to Marianne Briner, and has two children, Bernhard Andrew and Karin Lynn. He studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at the University of Bern from 57−62, obtained the Eidgenössiches Turn- und Sportlehrerdiplom and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry with Prof. Silvio Fallab at the University of Basel in 64, was a postdoctoral fellow in Basel (Prof. S. Fallab), at the University of California in Berkeley, CA, USA (Prof. R.E. Connick) and at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, USA (Dr. R.G. Shulman) before joining the ETH Zürich in 69 (Privatdozent 70, Assistant Professor 72, Associate Professor 76, Professor of Biophysics 80, Chairman of the Department of Biology 95−00). Since 2001 he shares his time between the ETH Zürich and The Scripps Research Institute. Kurt Wüthrich ’s achievements have been recognized by the Prix Louis Jeantet de Médecine, the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and by a number of other awards and honorary degrees.

Current Positions: Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.; Professor of Biophysics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

 

Personal Data

Born October 4, 1938, in Aarberg, Switzerland. Swiss citizen.
Married to Marianne Briner, 1963; two children, Bernhard Andrew 1968, Karin Lynn 1970.

 

Education and Positions Held

1957–62    University of Bern, Switzerland:   Lizentiat in chemistry, physics and mathematics.

1962–64   University of Basel, Switzerland: Ph.D. in   chemistry (Prof. S. Fallab); Eidgenössisches Turn- und Sportlehrerdiplom.

1964–65    University of Basel, Switzerland:   Postdoctoral training (Prof. S. Fallab).

1965–67    University of California, Berkeley,    CA, USA   : Postdoctoral training (Prof. R.E. Connick).

1967–69    Bell Telephone   Laboratories, Murray Hill,    N.J., USA   : Member Technical Staff, Biophysics Department (Dr. R.G. Shulman).

1969–    ETH Zurich,   Zurich, Switzerland: Privatdozent (70),   Assistant Professor (72), Associate Professor (76), Professor of Biophysics   (80); Chairman Biology Department (95–2000).

2001–04    The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA,    USA: Cecil H.   and Ida M. Green Visiting Professor of Structural Biology.

2004–    The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA,    USA: Cecil H.   and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology.

 

Major Research Interests

Biology, structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids; development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for macromolecular structure determination in solution and for studies of intermolecular interactions; applications in structural genomics, proteomics and biomedical research.

 

Publications

NMR in Biological Research: Peptides and Proteins, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1976.

NMR of Proteins and Nucleic Acids, Wiley, New York, 1986.

NMR in Structural Biology – a Collection of Papers by Kurt Wüthrich, World Scientific, Singapore, 1995.

790 original papers and reviews.

 

Visiting Faculty Appointments

1974    Friedrich-Miescher-Preis,   Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Biochemie.

1983    Shield of the Faculty of Medicine,   Tokyo University, Japan.

1986    Médaille P. Bruylants, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.

1990    Stein and Moore   Award of the Protein Society,    USA.

1991    Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University, New York, USA.

1991    Gilbert Newton   Lewis Medal, University of California, Berkeley,    USA.

1992    Marcel Benoist-Preis, awarded by   the Swiss Confederation.

1993    Distinguished Service Award, The Miami Bio/Technology Winter Symposia, USA.

1993    Prix Louis Jeantet de Médecine,   Fondation Louis Jeantet, Geneva,    Switzerland.

1996    Kaj Linderstrøm-Lang Prize,   Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen,    Denmark.

1997    Eminent Scientist of RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan.

1998    Kyoto Prize in   Advanced Technology, Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan.

1999    Günther Laukien Prize,   Experimental NMR Conference (ENC), USA.

1999    Otto-Warburg-Medaille,   Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie,    Germany.

2001    Médaille d‘Honneur en Argent,   Société d‘Encouragement au Progrès, Paris,    France.

2002    Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

2002    World ‘Future’ Award, The World   Awards, Wien, Austria.

2002    Swiss ‘Society’ Award, The Swiss   Awards, Zürich, Switzerland.

2002    Ehrenpreis 2002, City of Wallisellen, Switzerland.

2003    Honorary Citizenship, City of Lyss, Switzerland.

2008    Johannes M. Bijvoet Medal, Utrecht University,   Utrecht, The Netherlands.

2008    Paul Walden Medal, Riga Technical   University, Riga, Latvia.

2009    Jabir ibn Hyyan (Geber) Medal,   Saudi Chemical Society, Saudi Arabia.

2010    Ralph and Helen Oesper Award,   University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

2012    President’s Gold Medal, Government   of India.

2013    Theodor Bücher Medal, Federation   of European Biochemical Societies.

2015    IUBMB Medal

2016    Shanghai 1,000 Talents Award.

 

Awards

1974    Friedrich-Miescher-Preis,   Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Biochemie.

1983    Shield of the Faculty of Medicine,   Tokyo University, Japan.

1986    Médaille P. Bruylants, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.

1990    Stein and Moore   Award of the Protein Society,    USA.

1991    Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University, New York, USA.

1991    Gilbert Newton   Lewis Medal, University of California, Berkeley,    USA.

1992    Marcel Benoist-Preis, awarded by   the Swiss Confederation.

1993    Distinguished Service Award, The Miami Bio/Technology Winter Symposia, USA.

1993    Prix Louis Jeantet de Médecine,   Fondation Louis Jeantet, Geneva,    Switzerland.

1996    Kaj Linderstrøm-Lang Prize,   Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen,    Denmark.

1997    Eminent Scientist of RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan.

1998    Kyoto Prize in   Advanced Technology, Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan.

1999    Günther Laukien Prize,   Experimental NMR Conference (ENC), USA.

1999    Otto-Warburg-Medaille,   Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie,    Germany.

2001    Médaille d‘Honneur en Argent,   Société d‘Encouragement au Progrès, Paris,    France.

2002    Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

2002    World ‘Future’ Award, The World   Awards, Wien, Austria.

2002    Swiss ‘Society’ Award, The Swiss   Awards, Zürich, Switzerland.

2002    Ehrenpreis 2002, City of Wallisellen, Switzerland.

2003    Honorary Citizenship, City of Lyss, Switzerland.

2008    Johannes M. Bijvoet Medal, Utrecht University,   Utrecht, The Netherlands.

2008    Paul Walden Medal, Riga Technical   University, Riga, Latvia.

2009    Jabir ibn Hyyan (Geber) Medal,   Saudi Chemical Society, Saudi Arabia.

2010    Ralph and Helen Oesper Award,   University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

2012    President’s Gold Medal, Government   of India.

2013    Theodor Bücher Medal, Federation   of European Biochemical Societies.

2015    IUBMB Medal

2016    Shanghai 1,000 Talents Award.

 

Honorary Degrees

1997    Dottore ad Honorem in Chimica, Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy.

1997    Dr. phil. honoris causa, Universität Zürich, Switzerland.

2001    Docteur   honoris causa, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

2004    Doctor honoris   causa, Universitat de València,    Spain.

2004    Doctor of   Science honoris causa, University of     Sheffield, UK.

2004    Profesor Extraordinario con   distinción de Académico Ilustre, U.N. Mar del Plata, Argentina.

2005    Doctor of Science honoris causa, King George’s Medical University,   Lucknow, India.

2007    Doctor of Medicine honoris causa, University of Pécs, Hungary.

2007    Doctor of Chemistry honoris causa, Universidad del Norte,   Asunción, Paraguay.

2007    Doctor honoris causa, Lomonosov   Moscow State   University, Moscow, Russia.

2007    Laurea Specialistica in Biotechnology honoris causa, University of Verona, Italy.

2007    Docteur honoris causa, Université René Descartes, Paris,   France.

2012    Laurea   Magistrale in Pharmacology honoris causa, Università degli Studi di Napoli,   Italy.

2015    Doctor honoris causa in   Phamacology, University of Patras, Greece.

2015    Doctor honoris causa, Universidad de Buenos Aires,   Argentina.

2015    Severo Ochoa Lecture, 23rd   IUBMB Congress, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

2016    Doctor honoris causa,   Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina.

 

Academies and Honorary Memberships in Societies

1984    European Molecular Biology   Organization (EMBO).

1987    Deutsche Akademie der   Naturforscher Leopoldina.

1989    Academia Europaea.

1989    Foreign Fellow, Indian National    Science Academy.

1992    Foreign Associate,   US National Academy   of Sciences.

1992    Honorary Fellow, The National Academy of Sciences, India.

1993    Foreign Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1993    Honorary Member, Japanese   Biochemical Society.

1998    Honorary Member, National Magnetic   Resonance Society of India.

1998    AAAS Fellow, American Association   for the Advancement of Science.

2000    Associé étranger, Académie des   Sciences, Institut de France.

2001    Schweizerische Akademie der   Technischen Wissenschaften (SATW).

2002    Schweizerische Akademie der   Medizinischen Wissenschaften (SAMW).

2002    IUPAC Fellow.

2003    Honorary Fellow, The Royal Society   of Chemistry, UK (HonFRSC).

2003    Honorary Fellow, The Royal Society   of Edinburgh, UK (HonFRSE).

2003    Honorary Member, Swiss Chemical   Society.

2003    Honorary Member, Wallisellen   Football Club, Switzerland.

2003    Titular Member, European Academy   of Arts, Sciences and Humanities.

2004    Honorary Member, International   Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

2004    Honorary Member, Hungarian Academy   of Sciences.

2004    Honorary Member, World Academy   of Young Scientists.

2004    Honorary Member, World High   Technology Society, Dalian,    China.

2004    Honorary Member, European Academy   of Sciences and Arts.

2004    Foreign Member, Latvian Academy   of Sciences.

2004    Honorary Member, Groupement   Ampère.

2004    Honorary Member, The Nuclear   Magnetic Resonance Society of Japan.

2005    Honorary Member, Indian Biophysical   Society.

2005    Corresponding Member,   Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

2005    Foreign Member, The Korean Academy of Science and Technology.

2005    Honorary Member, The Korean   Magnetic Resonance Society.

2008    Honorary Fellow, Latvian Institute   of Organic Synthesis, Riga,    Latvia.

2008    ISMAR Fellow.

2010    Foreign Member, The Royal Society,   UK (ForMem RS).

2012    Honorary Fellow, The Spanish   Biophysical Society.

2013    Corresponding Member, Academia   Brasileira de Ciências.

2017    JMR Fellow, Journal of Magnetic   Resonance, USA.

 

Named Lectures

1982    FMC Lectures, Princeton University,   Princeton, NJ, USA.

1983    Baker Lectures, Cornell University,   Ithaca, NY,    USA.

1984    S. Rudin Lecture, Columbia    University Medical School, New York,   NY, USA.

1986    Chaire Bruylants, Université   Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve,    Belgium.

1989    James Shannon Lecture, Massachusetts General Hospital,   Boston, MA,    USA.

1989    Ada Doisy   Lectures, University of Illinois, Urbana,    IL, USA.

1990    Pittsburgh   Conference Lectures, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,    PA, USA.

1991    Distinguished Lecture in   Structural Biology, Dartmouth College, Hannover,    NH, USA.

1991    John T. Edsall Lecture, Harvard University,   Cambridge, MA, USA.

1991    Ira Remsen Memorial Lecture, Johns Hopkins   University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

1993    William H. Stein Memorial Lecture,   Rockefeller University, New York,    NY, USA.

1993    Calbiochem Lectures, UCSD, San Diego, CA,    USA.

1993    Martinsrieder Kolloquium, MPI für   Biochemie, Martinsried, Germany.

1995    P.A. Leermakers Lecture, Wesleyan University,   Middletown, CT, USA.

1995    Adam Neville Lecture, University of Dundee,   Dundee, UK.

1996    UCLA-DOE Distinguished Lecture,   UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

1997    UMDNJ Distinguished Lecture, Rutgers University,   Piscataway, NJ, USA.

1998    University Lecture, University of Texas   Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas,    TX, USA.

1998    Ames Lecture,   Dept. of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh,    UK.

2000    Gitte Vold Memorial Lecture, UCSD,   San Diego, CA, USA.

2001    Peter Hemmerich-Vorlesung,   Universität Konstanz, Konstanz,    Germany.

2002    Merck   Frosst Lectures, Dept.of Chemistry, Simon   Fraser University,   Vancouver, BC, Canada.

2002    Harry   Steenbock Lectures in Biochemistry, University   of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.

2003    Eraldo   Antonini Memorial Lecture, Unversità di    Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome,    Italy.

2004    Faculty   Lecture Series, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.

2004    Eyring   Lectures, Arizona State University,   Tempe, AZ,    USA.

2004    Robbins   Lectures, Pomona College, Claremont,    CA, USA.

2004    Stammbach   Lecture, Swiss Society of Neuropathology, St. Moritz, Switzerland.

2004    Derby Lectures, Department of Chemistry, University of Louisville,   Louisville, KY, USA.

2004    Lauterbur   Lecture, ISMRM Twelfth Scientific Meeting and Exhibition, Kyoto, Japan.

2004    Ernst-Abbe-Kolloquium,   Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena,    Germany.

2004    Datta   Lecture, 29th FEBS Congress, Warsaw,    Poland.

2005    Trombay   Colloquium, Bhabba Atomie Research Centre, Mumbai, India.

2005    Sarojini   Damodoran Lecture, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India.

2005    G.N.   Ramachandran Memorial Lecture, Indian Biophysical Society, Pune, India.

2007    Irving L.   Schwartz Lecture, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

2007    Aline U.   and James M. Orten Memorial Lecture, Wayne   State University,   Detroit, MI, USA.

2007    Philip   Handler Lecture, Duke University Medical   Center, Durham, NC, USA.

2008    Discovery   Lecture, Vanderbilt University Medical   Center, Nashville, TN, USA.

2009    V.   Ramalingaswami Memorial Lecture, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.

2009    IUBMB Life   Lecture, 21st IUBMB International Congress, Shanghai, China.

2010    Luigi Sacconi Memorial Lecture,   Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy.

2011    Cannizzaro   Lecture, Società Chimica Italiana, Italy.

2013    Bücher   Lecture, 38th FEBS Congress, St. Petersburg, Russia.

2015    Severo   Ochoa Lecture, 23rd IUBMB Congress, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

2016    ShanghaiTech   Lecture, SIAIS BioForum, Shanghai, China.

 

Scientific Advisory Boards
Centro Stefano Franscini, Monte Verità and ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 89–98.
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, 89–95.
National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China, 89– 04.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn, Germany: Schwerpunktsprogramm “Protein Design”, 89–95.
Commission of the European Communities: Human Capital and Mobility Program, 92–94.
Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Jena, Germany, 93–96.
Ciba Foundation, London, UK, 94–96.
Institut de Biologie Structurale Jean-Pierre Ebel, Grenoble, France, 94–97.
Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland, 97–05.
Novartis Foundation, London, UK, 97– 05.
Triad Therapeutics Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA, 98– 04.
Genomics Sciences Center, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan, 00–05.
Syrrx Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA, 00–04.
Groupement d‘Intérêt Scientifique “Infections à Prions”, France, 01–05.
National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics (NICPB), Tallinn, Estonia, 01–05.
National High Field NMR Center (NANUC), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 01–04.
Resource for Solid-State NMR of Proteins at UCSD, La   Jolla, CA, USA, 01–04.
Eidogen-Sertanty, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA 02–.
Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 05–.
Solvay Scientific Committee for Chemistry, International Solvay Institutes, Brussels, Belgium.
Member 05–11; Chairman 11–.
Honorary Advisory Board of IUBMB, 07–.
Councillor of the Foundation Antidoping Switzerland, 08–10.
Scientific Advisory Board, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Indore, India, 12–.
Academic Advisory Board, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology (ICSB), China, 17–.

 

Editorial Assignments

Editor: Q. Rev.Biophys. 84–91, 96–01; Macromolecular Structures 90–00; J. Biomol. NMR 91–11.
Member Editorial Board: Advanced Science Letters; Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Biochimie, Biology, Biophys. Chem., Biopolymers, CHEMBIOCHEM, Chemtracts, Chemical Physics Letters, Encyclopedia of NMR, Comm. Mol. Cell. Biophysics, Curr. Methods Mol. Cell Biol., Curr. Opinion Struct. Biol., Eur. Biophys. J., Inorg. Chim. Acta, Israel J. Chem., IUBMB Life, J. Biotechnology, J. Computer-Aided Mol. Design, J. Magn. Reson., J. Membrane Biol., J. Struct. Funct. Genomics, Life Sciences, PeerJ, Proteins, Structure, The Natural Products Journal.

Consultancy Assignments

Hoechst AG, Frankfurt, Germany, 85–92.
Sandoz Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland, 87–96.
Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland, 87– 04.
Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel, Switzerland, 89–96.
Tripos Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA, 92–94.
Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland, 97–.

 

Offices in Professional Organizations

Schweiz. Kommission für Molekularbiologie (SKMB): Member 73–76; President 77–82.
International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB): Council Member 75–78 and 87–90; Secretary General 78–84; Vice-President 84–87.
International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU): Member General Committee 80–86; Member Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists 82–90.
Kommission für die Wolfgang Pauli-Vorlesungen, ETH Zürich: Member 84–92; President 93–01.
Zürcher Chemische Gesellschaft: President 90–91.
Schweiz. Gesellschaft für Biochemie: Member Executive Committee 86–92; President Biophysics Section 85–88.
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Commission on Biophysical Chemistry: Member 96–99; Chairman 00–01.
Prix Marcel Benoist, Conseil de Fondation, Bern: Member 01–15.

Patronage Committees

Visionen ETH 2030, 150^th Anniversary ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 03–05.
International Jury, World Awards, Vienna, Austria, 03–07.
Honorary Board, The International Wallenberg   Foundation, New York, USA, 03–.
Academy Member, Swiss Awards, Zürich, Switzerland, 03–15.
2. Schweizerische Kunstturntage, Bern, Switzerland 2004, 03–04.
Symposium Systems Biology (C-BSSE), Basel, Switzerland 2004, 03–04.
Kulturprojekt “Einstein05”, Bern, Switzerland 2005, 04–05.
Buchlobby Schweiz, Switzerland, 04–.
Science et Cité, Bern, Switzerland, 04–11.
Synapsis Foundation, Zürich, Switzerland, 04–.
Honorary Board, Swiss Science Forum, 05–.
International Peace Foundation, 05–.
Founder’s Assembly of the Foundation Lindau Nobel Prize Winners Meetings, 05–.
Association of Swiss Scientific Olympiads, 05–.
Ambassador for Zürich, UEFA EURO 2008, 06–08.
175th Anniversary University of Zürich, Switzerland 2008, 07–08.
European Gymnastics Championships, Bern, Switzerland, 2016 14–16.
Anniversary “50 Jahre Schweizer Jugend forscht”, 16–.