Peter B. Dervan is the Bren Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. He was born on June 28, 1945 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He received his B.S. from Boston College, and after completing his Ph.D. at Yale, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University and began his association with Caltech as an assistant professor in 1973. Dervan's research program addresses a wide range of fundamental problems at the interface of organic chemistry and biology. Elucidating the chemical principles for the molecular recognition of DNA by small molecules and their use in biology, in particular gene modulation and DNA detection, are unifying themes. Dervan is the recipient of countless noteworthy awards and honors, including the prestigious National Medal of Science in 2006 for his contributions to organic chemistry.