On Mar. 20, 2022, the American Chemical Society awarded The Priestley Medal to Peter B. Dervan “to recognize distinguished services to chemistry,” the Society’s most prestigious award.

Dervan is recognized for “his pioneering contributions in the rational design of molecules that bind sequence-specifically to DNA, work that has been foundational at the chemistry-biology interface.” With his work directed toward understanding the chemical principles for the sequence-specific recognition of DNA, Dervan has created a new field of bioorganic chemistry. He combined organic synthesis, physical chemistry, and biology to create synthetic molecules with affinities for predetermined DNA sequences. The work could have significant implications for medicine.