Researcher

Michael Smith

Profile

Michael Smith was a British-Canadian biochemist at the University of British Columbia who shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for contributions to DNA-based chemistry—specifically, his development of site-directed mutagenesis. Smith developed a method to introduce specific, predetermined mutations into any cloned gene using synthetic oligonucleotides, enabling researchers to study the effect of individual amino acid changes on protein function with precision impossible by earlier methods. This technique, known as oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis or site-directed mutagenesis, became one of the most important tools in protein engineering and rational drug design. It enabled researchers to identify catalytic residues in enzymes, map protein-protein interaction surfaces, engineer antibodies with altered specificity or affinity, and produce protein therapeutics with improved properties. Every protein engineering effort in the biopharmaceutical industry—from monoclonal antibodies to recombinant enzymes—relies on site-directed mutagenesis or its descendants. Smith donated half his Nobel prize money to schizophrenia research and half to promoting science among young women, embodying scientific generosity. His legacy permeates every corner of modern biotechnology.

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