Dr. Eric Kool is a distinguished chemist and pioneering leader in chemical biology with his research centered on nucleic acid structure and function. He currently holds the prestigious George and Hilda Daubert Professorship of Chemistry at Stanford University, where he has been a faculty member since 1999. Professor Kool received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1988 followed by postdoctoral training in nucleic acids chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. Prior to his appointment at Stanford he established his independent research career at the University of Rochester where he began developing innovative chemical approaches to study biological systems. His academic journey reflects a consistent commitment to bridging the gap between chemical synthesis and biological understanding.
The Kool laboratory has produced groundbreaking work through the application of chemical tools to investigate the structures interactions and biological activities of nucleic acids and their processing enzymes. His research program emphasizes molecular design and synthesis as central methodologies followed by rigorous analysis of structure and function in both test tubes and living systems. Professor Kool's team has developed innovative chemical tools for mapping RNA structure and interactions within cells created novel methods for RNA stabilization and conjugation and designed probes to investigate DNA repair pathways and their connections to cancer. These contributions have significantly advanced our understanding of nucleic acid biochemistry while providing practical applications in biomedicine.
Beyond his research contributions Professor Kool has received numerous prestigious honors including the Murray Goodman Memorial Prize in 2019 and the Ronald Breslow Biomimetic Chemistry Award in 2015 recognizing his innovative integration of chemical and biological approaches. As an educator he teaches Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology to undergraduate and graduate students at Stanford inspiring future generations of scientists to pursue interdisciplinary research. His laboratory continues to push scientific boundaries with ongoing projects focused on RNA biology and DNA repair mechanisms with implications for disease diagnosis and treatment. Professor Kool remains a central figure in chemical biology widely recognized for his ability to translate fundamental chemical insights into practical biological applications that address significant biomedical challenges.
