Elizabeth H. Blackburn is a molecular biologist and biochemist who conducted ground-breaking research on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and cell division that has provided a new line of inquiry into the chemical bases of life. Her discovery of a key enzyme, telomerase, which is necessary for chromosomes to make copies of themselves before cell division, has been applied to the study of chromosome behavior and of certain diseases, such as fungal infections and cancer. Widely recognized as one of the top researchers in her field, Blackburn is the first woman to head the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn was born in Hobart, Australia. Blackburn's interest in medicine and biology was influenced early on by her parents, Harold Blackburn and Marcia (Jack), both of whom were physicians. Blackburn graduated from the University of Melbourne with a B.S. degree in...