Prof. Roger D. Kornberg

2006 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry at the School of Medicine of Stanford University/USA

Prof. Kornberg’s research offers the potential for unlocking new therapeutic approaches for the treatments of cancer, heart disease and various kinds of inflammation.

Biography:

Prof. Roger David Kornberg is an American biochemist and Professor of Structural Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription which explains the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA. In elucidating the inner workings of RNA his research team has isolated the proteins responsible for transcription and gene regulation, including those that form a mediator to regulate the process. The team determined the structure of the entire transcription machinery at near atomic resolution. The structure helps explain how disease can result when transcription goes awry and offers the potential for unlocking new therapeutic approaches for the treatments of cancer, heart disease and various kinds of inflammation. During his life’s work Professor Kornberg’s closest collaborator has been his wife, Dr. Yahli Lorch, while his father, Prof. Arthur Kornberg, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for studies of how genetic information is transferred from one DNA molecule to another in a process called DNA replication.

Topic of keynote speech:

• The end of disease? – The extraordinary developments in biomedicine and the implications for humanity

Schedule:

Thursday, November 20, 2025:

14:00 Public keynote speech and dialogue at Academia Sinica in Taipei

Further information and free seat reservation via phone +886-2-2789-9380 or email
emma@as.edu.tw