Winner. Scientist of the Year 2017. Natural Sciences

Lewis Kay

Academic title, degree: Ph.D.
Fields of science: Molecular Biophysics
Research interest: Development of NMR techniques for studying macromolecular structure and dynamics and the application of NMR techniques to problems of biological and clinical importance
Institution: University of Toronto
Position: Professor, Departments of Molecular Genetics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Country: Canada

A Canadian who grew up in Edmonton, Lewis Kay graduated with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta in 1983 and won the Lieutenant Governor’s Gold Medal for Highest Achievement in the Graduating Class in the Faculty of Science. Professor Kay went on to obtain his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics from Yale University in 1988, followed by post-doctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health. He was assistant professor from 1992–1994 and subsequently appointed full professor of molecular genetics, biochemistry and chemistry.

Dr. Kay, who is also affiliated with Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), is known for his work in nuclear magnetic resonance, which involves the use of giant machines and powerful magnetic fields to probe the three-dimensional shapes of molecules. Although the technique is rooted in physics, its applications include understanding the functions of proteins and other cellular structures that are closely tied to human health and disease. Dr. Kay is awarded with the Gairdner International Award, Canada’s highest science prize.

Dr. Lewis Kay’s work on the development and use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for investigating molecular motion and short lived conformations in large multiprotein complexes, or ‘seeing the unseeable’ to use the vernacular, has pushed boundaries and opened up new paradigms in macromolecular structure.