Ben Cravatt is Recipient of the 2024 BMS Award in Enzyme Chemistry

Dear Members of the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry,

I am pleased to announce that Professor Ben Cravatt of The Scripps Research Institute is the recipient of the 2024 Bristol Myers Squibb Award in Enzyme Chemistry!

This award was established in 2023 and is designed to recognize “individuals whose discoveries are, or will be, translational in nature, impacting the biotechnology industry and over the longer term, human health.” 

Prof. Cravatt is the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps. The Cravatt Lab has pioneered activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) as a method to illuminate the activity and ligandability of proteins and enzymes at the proteome-wide scale. This has not only provided a wealth of insight into signaling and biological pathways but has also enabled the discovery of first-in-class inhibitors for high-impact targets including fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), which in turn has advanced new therapeutics into clinical trials.

The DBC will host an awards symposium in Prof. Cravatt’s honor during the Fall 2024 ACS National Meeting in Denver in August. Stay tuned for more information on this event.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit nominations and serve on the selection committee – I’m consistently humbled by the number of outstanding colleagues in our scientific community.

Please join me in congratulating Prof. Cravatt on this well-deserved award!

Sincerely,

Jen Heemstra, Washington University in St. Louis

Chair, DBC