Scientific Advisory Board
Roger Tsien, Ph.D.
Roger Tsien, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Howard Hughes Investigator at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Tsien designed many highly informative fluorescent reporters of signaling and gene expression in live cells and has creatively used them to elucidate fundamental mechanisms of calcium signaling and synaptic plasticity. These fluorescent probes make possible a wide range of high-throughput screening assays and explorations of cell function. Dr. Tsien's work has won many honors, including the Heineken, Wolf, and Rosenstiel awards and the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
In October 2008, Dr. Tsien was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2008 by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for his seminal contributions regarding understanding the chemistry of the fluorescence properties of “green fluorescent protein”( GFP) and other members of the GFP family. Importantly, the modified GFPs developed by Dr. Tsien provided the means to analyze protein-protein interactions and changes in protein structure, such as the binding of ligands by receptors. Many of Dr. Tsien’s discoveries have resulted in issued patents covering the use of GFP for these applications. Senomyx has licensed the use of patented GFP technology in the flavor and fragrance field.
Dr. Tsien is a founder of Senomyx. He joined the Senomyx Scientific Advisory Board in July 1999.
