Gerald F. Joyce

Dr. Gerald F. Joyce is a Professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. He also is Institute Director of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) in La Jolla. Dr. Joyce received his BA from the University of Chicago in 1978 and both an MD and PhD from the University of California, San Diego in 1984. He carried out postgraduate medical training at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego and postdoctoral research training at The Salk Institute before joining the faculty of The Scripps Research Institute in 1989. In 2017 he moved his laboratory to the Salk Institute, where it is part of the Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics.

Dr. Joyce’s research involves the test-tube evolution of functional RNA and DNA molecules and their potential application in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. He has a longstanding interest in the origins of life and the role of RNA in the early history of life on Earth. His research has led to the development of the first self-replicating RNA enzyme, which is capable of exponential growth and evolution. It also has led to the development of an RNA enzyme that catalyzes the polymerization and exponential amplification of other RNA molecules.

As a member (and former Chair) of the JASON advisory committee, Dr. Joyce has also provided crucial biological perspectives on national security issues. He has received extensive recognition for his work, including the H.C. Urey Award, presented every six years by the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life; the Dannie Heineman Prize, presented every two years by the Göttingen Academy of Sciences; and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Miller Medal, presented every five years in association with the Award for Early Earth and Life Sciences. In addition to his AAAS membership, Joyce is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine. He has published over 160 scientific papers and is the inventor of 11 issued patents.