Detailed Biography:

Stanley N. Cohen is professor of genetics and of medicine and former chair of genetics at Stanford University. In 1973, Cohen and Herbert Boyer, of the University of California, San Francisco, invented the technique of DNA cloning, which allowed genes to be transplanted between different biological species. Their discovery signalled the birth of genetic engineering. Cohen received his BA magna cum laude in biological sciences from Rutgers University and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the School of Medicine. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. His numerous honors and awards include the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology and the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Research Award. Cohen is past president of the San Francisco Bay-Area based Society of Medical Friends of Wine. He skis, sails and plays the five-string banjo.