India Tribune Newsdesk

Chicago: The University of Chicago will honor three distinguished scholars, including chemist Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, during its Convocation ceremony for the Class of 2026 on June 6. The other two scholars are economist and legal scholar Louis Kaplow and historian and archaeologist Greg Woolf. Each scholar will receive an honorary degree in recognition of their contributions to research and scholarship.

Balasubramanian, the Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

A senior group leader at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Institute, Balasubramanian studies the chemistry, structure, and function of nucleic acids. Together with David Klenerman, he co-invented the DNA sequencing technology Solexa—now known through Illumina—which transformed biological and medical research by making it possible to sequence human genomes quickly and at low cost. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this technology played a crucial role in identifying the SARS-CoV-2 genome, tracking emerging variants, and helping guide vaccine updates.

Beyond sequencing technology, Balasubramanian has made major contributions to the study of DNA structures and nucleic acids, work that is helping advance the development of new medical therapies.

Knighted in 2017, he has received numerous international honors, including the Royal Society’s Royal Medal, the Millennium Technology Prize, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Novo Nordisk Award, and the Canada Gairdner International Prize in Life Sciences. He is a fellow of the Royal Society, an international member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research.

(Courtesy University of Chicago)