Dr. Charles Cantor was born on August 26th, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family.
He is one of the pioneers of the Human Genome Project. Dr. Cantor is a bioterrorism expert, Chairman of Sequenom, Inc.’s Scientific Advisory Board, and was appointed Chief Scientific Officer in June 1998. Dr. Cantor was previously the chair and professor of the department of biomedical engineering and biophysics, and director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology at Boston University, and his research laboratory here remains active. Prior to this Dr. Cantor was chairman at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Professor of Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley. He was also director of the Human Genome Center Project of the Department of Energy at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Dr. Cantor is a consultant to more than 16 biotech firms, has published over 400 peer reviewed articles, authored and co-authored over 50 US and international patents, and co-authored a three-volume textbook on biophysical chemistry. He is also an author of the first genomics textbook, Genomics: The Science and Technology of the Human Genome Project.
Dr. Cantor’s research is focused on identifying biological problems that are resistant to conventional analytical approaches and then developing new methodologies or techniques for solving these problems. His current interests include the development of new methods for faster DNA sequencing, the development of new variations and analogs of the polymerase chain reaction, the development of bacterial strains suitable for environmental detoxification, and the discovery of human genes associated with sense and taste. He is also interested in exploring the possible use of biological molecules for applications in nanoengineering and microrobotics, and in making detectors capable of recognizing specific single molecules.
As for personal life, Dr. Cantor has never married and enjoys a colorful bachelor lifestyle. Being in perfect health, each day Dr. Cantor gets up early in the morning and runs five miles (~8 km) outdoors.
Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, US & Canada
