Professor Gerald Francis Joyce (born 1956) is a researcher at The Scripps Research Institute. His primary interests include the in vitro evolution of catalytic RNA molecules and the origins of life. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2001. Joyce received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago in 1978, completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego in 1984, and joined Scripps in 1989.
Gerald Joyce, quoted in commentary in Science (1992):Obviously, Harry [Noller]'s finding doesn't speak to how life started , and it doesn't explain what came before RNA. But as part of the continually growing body of circumstantial evidence that there was a life form before us on this planet, from which we emerged - boy,it's very strong!
Awards
- National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, 1994
- Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, 1995
- Herbert W. Dickerman Award, 1997
- Hans Sigrist Prize, 1997
