Frances Arnold awarded ACS ‘highest honour’

Caltech

NOBEL prize-winning chemical engineer Frances Arnold has been handed the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) “highest honour” for her contributions to chemistry.

Arnold has been awarded the Priestley Medal, named after British chemist Joseph Priestley, for her “pioneering” technique in the directed evolution of enzymes.

The ACS said: “Arnold showed that enzymes could be ‘bred’ for behaviour that may not be relevant in a natural context but is important for human use.”

An innovation in enzyme optimisation

Arnold developed her bioengineering method in the early 1990s, using the principles of evolution to create new and improved enzymes that could be applied to issues in biocatalysis.

The method is now used in industrial laboratories to optimise enzymes, antibodies, and other therapeutic proteins, and has been used to develop medicines, laundry detergents, and biofuels.

Arnold, who has been the Linus Pauling professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry at Caltech since 2000, won part of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2018 for her work.  

Her lab at Caltech has continued its research into protein engineering, with its latest paper focused on the use of directed evolution of enzymes in L-tyrosine, an amino acid which is an essential component in the production of neurotransmitters in the brain.

On the medal, Arnold said: “I am deeply grateful for this recognition that nature's catalysts are pointing toward a chemical future that is clean, efficient, and sustainable.”

She added: “Enzymes are the best chemists, of course, but the list of previous Priestley Medal winners is quite impressive."

Arnold will formally accept the award and deliver an address at the ACS Spring 2025 event in San Diego in March.