Paul Berg, Ph.D., a Stanford professor of biochemistry who won the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry, died Feb. 15 at his home on the Stanford campus. He was 96.
The Brooklyn native and son of Russian Jewish immigrants was known for work that — while controversial at the time — set in motion the field of genetic engineering. His pioneering work in combining DNA from two organisms caused fear initially, but led to lifesaving drugs and opened up new avenues of genetic research.
“I cannot overstate Paul’s brilliance, compassion and enthusiasm for discovery,” said Lloyd Minor, dean of Stanford Medicine.
In 1972, Berg authored a paper in which he revealed that he had inserted DNA from one organism — in this case, the bacterium E. coli — into the DNA of another. That accomplishment eventually earned him the Nobel Prize, but also set off a political and public firestorm.
Berg faced public fears that his work would lead to the creation of new plagues, alter how organisms evolve or even wreak environmental havoc.
In response to the outcry, Berg led the call for a moratorium on genetic engineering research, which gave him time to join colleagues to hammer out guidelines that allowed experimentation to proceed, under federal oversight.
Berg arrived at the Stanford School of Medicine in 1959, when the school was moving from San Francisco to the Palo Alto campus and establishing itself as a leading research institution. Besides continuing to focus on research, Berg was a staunch advocate for scientific freedom, which he felt fell under the First Amendment right to free speech.
He spoke out about government regulations limiting funding for stem cell research, and in 2004 he promoted California Proposition 71, which created the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The agency is a major funder of stem cell research in California and is a model for funding stem cell research in other states.
“Paul always wanted scientists to be responsible for what they do, and he wanted science to be evaluated on the basis of the success of the science, not the politics of the moment,” said Irv Weissman, a professor at Stanford. “Paul was by far the most influential in explaining to people why, if they wanted discoveries for the diseases they have, you need to be able to do the research.”